There is no telling where the debate on extending the pandemic-era subsidies that kept health insurance costs in check for millions of Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act will go from here. The answer could range anywhere from bipartisan victory for Obamacare to, the much more likely result of, nowhere at all.
After all, four Republican representatives signing a discharge petition kickstarted by Democrats guarantees nothing more than what the petition demands because a majority of the chamber signed it: An eventual House vote on an extension of those tax credits that expire at year’s end. It does not promise House passage or, even if it winds up leading to it, an easy trek through an unfriendly Senate next year.
Still, it does give an issue that has long been a critical one for the American people a shot at a bipartisan fix that to this point seemed unlikely. For that, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., deserves credit.
Bresnahan was one of the quartet of Republican legislators who went counter to the GOP’s wishes and signed the Democrat-led discharge petition, insisting the House vote on a bill to extend ACA subsidies for three years. The announcement came on the heels of House Republican leadership’s push to pass a health care bill that offered no relief for Americans bracing for skyrocketing premiums without an extension of the credits.
“Despite our months-long call for action, leadership on both sides of the aisle failed to work together to advance any bipartisan compromise, leaving this as the only way to protect the 28,000 people in my district from higher costs,” Bresnahan said in a statement. “Families in NEPA cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them. Doing nothing was not an option, and although this is not a bill I ever intended to support, it is the only option remaining. I urge my colleagues to set politics aside, put people first, and come together around a bipartisan deal.”
“Skyrocketing” is an apt word to describe the costs, according to experts. For example, the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated costs increases can exceed $1,000 per year for the average enrollee benefiting from the tax credits, with potentially much higher bills for others. Not extending the credits is likely to leave many pinching pennies to ensure they have access to health care, or abandoning it altogether. Neither should be a palatable option for the economy, or lawmakers interested in doing the right thing for the people.
Health care is an especially important issue in Northeast Pennsylvania, with an aging population that would be hamstrung without the type of financial help those subsidies provide. For Bresnahan, becoming a chief Republican advocate for a bipartisan workaround also might be a matter of mathematics. He defeated incumbent Matt Cartwright for the 8th District’s seat by just a little more than 6,000 votes in the 2024 general election, with the presidency (and Donald Trump) also on the ballot. There are already a few Democrats, including Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, lining up for the chance to run against him. Allowing thousands of local constituents who obtain their health insurance through the ACA to feel unprotected is not strategically prudent for anyone who wants to keep an elected office.
No matter what the rationale is for signing the petition, though, Bresnahan did the right thing for Northeast Pennsylvania by taking that step and holding House Republicans accountable for not just pointing out a problem, but coming up with a workable solution that doesn’t involve average Americans being cast into likely financial hardship.
There is no question the Affordable Care Act is not the most efficient of government programs. But at the same time, it is a valuable one. The Republican plan to render it useless through unaffordability effectively threatens to drastically increase the roster of the nation’s uninsured. Doing nothing, as Bresnahan pointed out in his statement, was indeed not an option.
It is encouraging that Bresnahan backed up prior promises to protect health care for those in his district. Hopefully, bringing this to the floor of the House in January ultimately leads to the type of bipartisan discussion that can make health care affordable and available to those who need it. The only way to achieve that is to prioritize conversation over political motivations.