Hope For Health Care Bills to Continue on 'Bipartisan Path,' Says DelBene

Democrat Representative from Washington Suzan DelBene, who also serves as the chair of the DCCC, says that the vote on an extension of ACA subsidies in the house is an 'important step forward' to push the Senate to make a deal on health care, even if this bill never becomes law.

Moderate Republicans are nearing a deal to extend enhanced Obamacare tax credits that they say could pass the House and Senate.

House lawmakers will vote on a three-year clean extension later Thursday after Democrats and a handful of Republicans forced House leaders’ hands through a discharge petition. Senate negotiators expect to modify that bill and say they’re close on the specifics.

House Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chairman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), while exiting a meeting Thursday between senators and the caucus, said if the health package can pass the Senate, moderates will make sure it gets a House vote “one way or another.” That could mean another bipartisan discharge petition — a procedural tool that allows House members to force votes over Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) head with 218 signatures.

“It would be unfathomable if something came out of the Senate and were not given a floor vote,” Fitzpatrick said. He also noted Senate negotiators are “very close” to a deal. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) anticipated Senate lawmakers will unveil the negotiated compromise next week.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said he laid out ideas for extending the credits for House members.

The enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits temporarily made the subsidies larger and removed an income cap. But those changes expired at the end of 2025, and the fight to extend them led to the longest government shutdown in US history last fall.

The Details

Moreno’s ideas include a two-year extension of the credits, installing a 700% federal poverty level income cap on eligibility, and setting a $5 minimum premium. In year two, enrollees would get the option to put that tax credit into a health savings account, and the government would fund the cost-sharing reductions.

When asked if he felt the proposal could pass Congress, Moreno said, “That was the question I asked them, and only they can answer that. They gave me a sense that they feel good about where they’re at.”

He added that the number of House Republicans who vote Thursday for the three-year extension can “really show a stronger signal to the Senate.”

Lawmakers will still have to get past a particularly thorny issue as part of negotiations: abortion restrictions. Members coming out of the meeting noted the ACA already has language prohibiting federal funds from going to abortion services, including making insurers collect a separate premium and holding separate accounts for such services.

Anti-abortion groups have argued that’s not enough, and are pushing Congress to block any subsidies from going to plans that cover abortion, which could impact the coverage of millions of enrollees.

Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) said President Donald Trump’s comments this week urging Republicans to be “flexible” on the Hyde amendment aided negotiations with Democrats. “That certainly provided some reassurances,” Bresnahan said.

The White House later walked back Trump’s comments amid angst from pro-life groups and conservative Republicans.

“The debate is, do we really need to do more?” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said.

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