Senate GOP unites behind HSA alternative to Obamacare subsidies as Thursday showdown looms

Senate Republicans have finally agreed on a plan to tackle expiring Obamacare subsidies to counter Senate Democrats, but both are likely to fail in a vote later this week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said Tuesday that Republicans are pushing back against Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Senate health panel. and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, have united around a bid to oppose Democrats’ legislation.

The Senate will vote on the duel proposals on Thursday.

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Thune said Cassidy and Crapo’s plan was received favorably by a majority of Republicans at the conference’s closed-door meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Their proposal, announced Monday night but in the works for weeks, calls for foregoing increased premium subsidies in favor of health savings accounts (HSAs), passing money that would go directly to insurers through the program to consumers instead.

Thune argued that Senate Democrats’ plan, announced last week by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-R.Y.) to extend subsidies for three years, would do little to reduce the cost of health care in the country and would instead benefit wealthy Americans and insurance companies.

Senate Republicans ANNOUNCE PLAN TO REPLACE OBAMACARE Subsidies WITH HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

Senate Democrats’ plan was announced last week by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY). (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

“This program needs to be reformed urgently,” Thune said. “Democrats have decided that we’re not going to do anything to reform. So we’ll see where the votes are on Thursday. But we’ll have an alternative that reflects the views of Republicans in the U.S. Senate about how we can make health insurance more affordable in this country, how we can make sure insurance companies aren’t getting rich and are actually benefiting the patient.”

Cassidy and Crapo’s plan would seed HSAs with $1,000 for people ages 18 to 49 and $1,500 for people ages 50 to 65 with incomes up to 700% of the poverty level. To get the pre-funded HSA, people will need to purchase a bronze or catastrophic plan on the Obamacare exchange.

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The bill also includes provisions reducing federal Medicaid funding for states that cover illegal immigrants, requirements for states to verify citizenship or eligible immigration status before someone can receive Medicaid, banning federal Medicaid funding for gender transition services and removing those services from “essential health benefits” for ACA exchange plans, and incorporating Hyde Amendment provisions to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions through new HSAs.

However, both plans will likely fail, given Senate Democrats’ refusal to eliminate subsidies in favor of HSAs and Republicans arguing that credit-related reforms such as income caps and tougher enforcement on taxpayer dollars that finance abortions are must-haves for their support.