U.S. senators have rejected a rival health care bill aimed at helping Americans deal with rising insurance premiums in the new year.
Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic-led measure that would have extended coronavirus-era subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, for three years.
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The proposal was Congressional Democrats’ solution to dealing with rising health insurance premiums next year. However, the bill failed to garner support from enough Republicans and fell short of the 60-vote threshold for advancement in the House.
All Democrats voted in favor of the bill, along with four Republicans: Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Without subsidies, premiums could more than double on average, according to health policy group KFF.
For some, like Nicole Thief, a mother of four in New Hampshire, the price could be five times as much.
“I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep up my mortgage. At the same time, living without health insurance is not an option. My husband has a chronic illness that requires medication, and he wouldn’t be able to pay for it without health insurance. He’s lost family members to the same illness, and we can’t take that risk,” Sharef said in testimony before the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee earlier this month.
Republican bill also rejected
A Republican-led proposal introduced earlier in the day also failed to pass. The measure would send up to $1,500 to people with incomes below 700 percent of the federal poverty line, which amounts to $110,000 for a single person and $225,000 for a family of four.
This payment is intended to cover out-of-pocket costs for “bronze” or “catastrophic” plans in the health care marketplace and help you meet the criteria you must pay before coverage is applied.
The fund has restrictions that Democrats have long opposed, including that it cannot be used for citizenship checks or abortion or gender reassignment treatments.
All Democrats voted against the bill, as did Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The proposed funding is far below the plan’s deductible, and even after that payment, patients would be forced to pay up to $7,500 in out-of-pocket medical costs before insurance begins paying for any portion of the treatment.
These costs can add up quickly for people on low-cost plans, with emergency room visits in the U.S. costing anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000, and ambulance rides from $500 to more than $3,500.
Felicia Barnett, national health care director for family advocacy group Moms Rising, said families across the country are running out of cost-cutting options in the face of rising food and housing costs, and rising health care costs are adding to the burden.
“Honestly, what I’m hearing is fear. Families are stretched to the limits of what they can do and are worried about their future. I don’t know what will happen if they can’t afford to go to the doctor or get the treatment they need,” Barnett told Al Jazeera.
“Families will have to make very difficult choices between seeking treatment for ongoing health issues or purchasing prescriptions to cover other basic needs such as food and shelter.”
Americans support continuing subsidies
Without an extension, about 2.2 million Americans could lose their health insurance premium subsidies, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and low- and moderate-income households would struggle to keep up with their premiums.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that Americans support continuing health care subsidies. About 51% of respondents said they supported extending the subsidies, including three-quarters of Democrats and one-third of Republicans. Only 21% said they were against it.
Insurers are warning customers about premium increases in the new year, and Democrats argue they don’t have time to do anything other than a clean extension of the tax credit. Congress is scheduled to leave Washington this weekend and will not return until January 5th.
As more people choose no insurance at all because of cost, experts like Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of public health at the State University of New York School of Public Health, say that will put additional strain on emergency rooms, which are required to treat people whether or not they pay for their care.
“When emergency rooms are flooded with patients at various stages of the disease, it delays care for those who really need it. Emergency rooms already have long wait times, and this will further clog them, impacting everyone, including those with insurance, because instead of seeing 10 people, staff may be seeing 50.”
