Johnson health bill next week unlikely to end Obamacare standoff

Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to unveil a Republican health care bill in the coming days for a vote by the end of the month, but the move is unlikely to resolve a congressional deadlock over expiring Obamacare subsidies.

The GOP plan is likely to include ideas the party has floated in the past to create less comprehensive plans to compete with Obamacare and to divert premium tax credits for the insurance policies toward tax-sheltered savings accounts individuals can use to cover non-premium out-of-pocket costs.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted Republicans for refusing to negotiate on an extension of the subsidies and accused them of working to undermine the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges.

“They have zero interest in sitting down and finding a path forward,” Jeffries said on Bloomberg Television Friday. “This is the same group of people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act 70 times.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters this week that the party is not “focused” on extending the Obamacare premium subsidies, which expire Jan. 1. He has been leading the effort to craft the bill and met with various factions of the party over the past week to get their input. That outreach has not included Democrats even though the votes of Senate Democrats will be needed to enact any health care plan because of Senate procedural obstacles.

Democrats say they are united around a plan to extend the subsidies for three years without any changes. Senate Democrats will force a vote the plan next week, though it is virtually certain to fail since they would need support from at least 13 Republicans to overcome a likely GOP filibuster.

Without an extension, more than 20 million Obamacare users are set to see their premiums spike, on average more than doubling at the beginning of the year. Insurers are set to lose droves of customers expected to go without health coverage because of the higher cost.

Critics of the GOP plan say that any effects on overall health care costs won’t be immediate and states will have troubling implementing them quickly.

It’s also unclear whether the House proposal will have buy-in from Senate Republicans. Senate Republican leader John Thune told reporters Thursday it is an open question whether the Senate GOP will unite behind a proposal this year on health care.

Johnson said the details of the GOP-only plan are likely to be unveiled next week ahead of a vote before Congress leaves for the holiday recess on Dec. 19.

“We put together the component pieces of what we know can bring down premiums, and you’ll see some of this being rolled out in the next few days, probably by mid next week,” Johnson said on Fox Business Friday.