US House Passes Republican Healthcare Bill, ACA Extension Left Out

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a healthcare bill that didn’t include an extension of the ACA tax credits that were at the heart of the recent government shutdown. This bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

On Wednesday, the exclusion of a provision extending the ACA tax credits triggered a revolt within the GOP ranks as some moderates in their ranks joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition that would compel the House to conduct a vote on extending the tax credits for 3 years. However, none of the Republicans who signed this petition eventually voted against the overall bill.

The discharge petition is going to be voted on in January when the House reconvenes from its holiday recess. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the chamber, revealed that the discharge petition will be considered during the first week upon resumption of business in the House in January. He added that the GOP would have plenty more to consider on health care once business resumes in January. The House is holding its last session this year on Thursday.

The moderates who signed the discharge petition argued that leaving out the tax credit extension would be handing Democrats a potent weapon to use against the GOP during the upcoming midterm elections since millions of Americans would feel the pinch of skyrocketing health insurance premiums and blame it on Republicans.

However, the GOP bill passed and by the time the discharge petition is considered, the tax credits would have expired and Americans will have come face to face with the higher premiums charged by health insurance companies as the new reality of no healthcare tax credits bites.

The GOP success in the House is just one hurdle that the party has navigated. In the Senate, the new health care bill faces an uphill task because the GOP doesn’t have a strong majority as it does in the House. For the bill to pass, they will need to win over several Democrats to vote for the bill, and the chances of this happening are slim. The Democrats who voted for the bill ending the government shutdown did so after a promise that the tax credit extension would be voted on.

That can has now been kicked further down the road and it will be harder for the GOP to convince Senate Democrats, or at least some of them, that the health care bill should be passed on yet another promise that doesn’t contain any solid guarantees that what the Democrats want will be granted in January.

All stakeholders in the health care system, including entities like Astiva Health, will be watching how this bill is handled in the U.S. Senate and whether or not it garners the needed support to pass. The stakes are high, especially with the midterms just around the corner.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Astiva Health are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/Astiva

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