The House of Representatives passed a GOP healthcare bill on Wednesday without extending enhanced COVID-era Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire on January 1.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said the bill will “reduce premiums for all Americans by, on average, at least 11% overall.”
“And that’s just the beginning,” he added. “There will be much more to come, more ideas in the first part of next year to bring down the cost of health care. And what the bill did in addition to that tonight is it increases the quality of care, the access to care.”
He further slammed the Democrats for attempting to weaponize healthcare without a real solution and “continue to shovel taxpayer dollars onto a broken system.”
WATCH:
The lower premiums for all Americans Act does exactly what the title suggests. It will reduce premiums for all Americans by, on average, at least 11% overall, and that’s just the beginning. There will be much more to come, more ideas in the first part of next year to bring down the cost of health care. And what the bill did in addition to that tonight, is it increases the quality of care, the access to care. It gives persons more options, more flexibility, in their health care, and also it adds transparency. We had the PBM pharmacy benefit manager transparency piece to it as well. Now contrast that with the Democrats COVID era subsidy that they wanted to extend— that would only impact 7% of Americans.
The bill we just passed impacts 100% of Americans. Their version would impact 7% of Americans, and it would cost taxpayers $350 billion. That is not the way to reduce the cost of health care. The Democrats do not want a solution, they just demonstrated, because they voted against this bill. They want an issue for the election. It is based on a false narrative. The Democrats broke America’s health care system when they gave us the ACA, the “Unaffordable” Care Act— 15 years ago, they promised that premiums would come down, that access would increase, and quality of health care would increase.
None of that happened because it’s a flawed system. Their response right now is to subsidize and continue to shovel taxpayer dollars onto a broken system. We say enough is enough. Republican Party is the party that is bringing the ideas forward to fix this crisis and fix this problem for everyone. It is a serious problem. We took a big step tonight to do that. We hope that this gets signed into law quickly, because it will have the desired effect. We hope the Senate can can get this done in short order.
This comes after four House Republicans revolted against Johnson and signed onto a petition to force a House vote on extending expiring healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
COVID-era Obamacare subsidies remain a key factor as another January 30 government funding deadline looms and another shutdown could occur.
MORE:
JUST IN: Four Republicans Sign Onto Democrat Plan to Force a Vote on Obamacare Subsidies Before January 1 Expiration
The new GOP healthcare bill passed along party lines, with only Thomas Massie (R-KY) voting in opposition.
Per the Hill:
The legislation has little chance of passing through the Senate, however, and it does not address the cost cliff that’s expected to hit 22 million Americans when the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits sunset on Dec. 31 — a dynamic that’s infuriated centrist Republicans who’ve clamored for months to extend the benefits.
Still, even the frustrated Republicans support the conservative policies, and the GOP bill passed without difficulty, 216-211. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) joined all Democrats in voting against the bill.
The bill, dubbed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, includes policies that are widely popular among Republicans — including funds to pay for “cost-sharing reductions,” reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry, and an expansion of association health plans.
But the GOP’s unity on the leadership bill belied the underlying tensions within the House GOP conference, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his centrist wing have jousted for weeks over the fate of the enhanced ObamaCare subsidies — an issue that could play an outsized role in the battle for control of the House in next year’s midterms.
The post JUST IN: House Passes GOP Health Care Bill without Extension of Obamacare Subsidies – Johnson Says Plan will “Reduce Premiums for all Americans by, on Average, at Least 11% overall” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.