Their bill, released Monday, is intended to replace the enhanced subsidies that are about to expire. New legislation from top Senate Republicans would create government- funded health savings accounts to replace enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire after this year. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the chair of the health committee, and Mike Crapo of Idaho, who leads the Finance panel, released their legislation on Monday. It aims to provide a sharp contrast to a Democratic proposal to extend enhanced subsidies for three years that’s up for a vote later this week. The Cassidy-Crapo bill also meets President Donald Trump’s demand to convert the subsidies into a direct payment to Americans. “Instead of 100% of this money going to insurance companies, let’s give it to patients,” said Cassidy, who was a gastroenterologist before entering politics. “By giving them an account that they control, we give them the power.” Majority Leader John Thune promised Democrats a vote on their bill when they agreed to vote for government-funding legislation last month, but he and other Republican leaders are leaning against offering a competing bill, POLITICO has reported. The Democrats’ bill does not have the 60 votes needed for passage. Cassidy and Crapo along with other Republicans with different proposals are hoping to convince their leaders to reconsider. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Bernie Moreno of Ohio floated their own proposal to extend the subsidies for two years with a new income cap on eligibility. The enhanced subsidies, which Democrats created in a 2021 Covid relief law, offered subsidies to people earning more than four times the poverty level for the first time. Democrats included an expiration date in order to save money, but now want to lift it. Extending the subsidies for 10 more years would cost $350 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Subsidies will return to their original 2010 levels if the enhanced ones expire. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has also proposed legislation on “Trump Freedom Accounts” which resemble an HSA but with several key differences. The accounts can be used to pay for plan premiums, which an HSA cannot. Cassidy and Crapo’s legislation would give HSA funding to those earning less than 700 percent of the poverty level, $1,000 for people ages 18 to 49 and $1,500 for those 50 to 65. However, to get the HSA an individual must purchase a bronze or catastrophic plan on an Obamacare exchange. The bronze plans offer lower premiums than other plan tiers but have higher out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles and copays. The average deductible for a bronze plan was roughly $7,000 last year, according to data from the nonpartisan health policy research organization KFF. The legislation would expand eligibility for catastrophic plans, which currently are limited to people under 30, those who are otherwise not eligible for an Obamacare subsidy or who get a hardship exemption.

Washington is unhappy that some European arms programs limit U.S. participation.