House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) told Breitbart News that Democrats’ indecision on health care shows they have no real solutions to address the healthcare crisis they created.
Guthrie and Pfluger spoke to Breitbart News as the expiration of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs), or enhanced Obamacare subsidies, looms ever closer. Democrats first enhanced the Obamacare subsidies through the Biden-, coronavirus-era stimulus plan known as the American Rescue Plan. They continued the subsidies once again through the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, setting them to expire at the end of 2025, instead of permanently extending them.
WATCH — The “Unaffordable Care Act” Made Insurance Companies Rich, Give Money Directly to the People:
As Democrats have failed to negotiate with the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress on a potential solution to address the expiring subsides, and the overall cost of health care, the healthcare leaders noted that there are few solutions that Democrats have proposed, other than simply continuing the subsidies.
House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) voiced his support for Medicare for All in 2019. He also cosponsored legislation that would create a public option to compete against private health insurance. A public option is perceived as a more “moderate” option; however, healthcare experts criticize a public option as a “trojan horse” to single-payer health care.
As the midterm elections move closer, some progressives want to move on from merely extending the Obamacare subsidies and push for Medicare for All, which would burn Democrats’ unified messaging.
“Democrats’ divide on Medicare-for-All further confirms the lack of solutions they have to address the health care affordability crisis they created. Republicans have proposed and passed real solutions that deliver real savings and expanded choices for the American people,” Guthrie told Breitbart News in a written statement.
The House passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All American Act, a bill that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said would lower premiums by 11 percent and save $35.6 billion.
In contrast to the House-passed legislation, a report found that the expiring Biden-era Obamacare subsidies minimally impacted total 2026 premiums, which counters a Democrat narrative that these credits are responsible for the increase in health insurance premiums.
Pfluger said, “Minority Leader Jeffries’ decision to back a Medicare for All plan shows a reckless disregard for fiscal reality and patient care. Single-payer systems have proven to do nothing more than bankrupt governments while patients pay the price with fewer choices and worse coverage.”
Pfluger and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) proposed the More Affordable Care Act (MACA) that aims to lower healthcare costs and fix the “disaster” that is Obamacare.
Instead of paying health insurers to lower premiums, Scott and Pfluger’s bill would establish Trump Health Freedom Accounts, which are Health Savings Account-style accounts that ensure federal healthcare dollars go straight to patients.
Increasing healthcare price transparency has been a cornerstone of Trump’s reforms.
According to Breitbart News:
Economists Steve Forbes, Arthur Laffer, and Larry Van Horn wrote in an op-ed in 2020 that Trump’s reform could help families save up to $11,000 per family each year. The economists also noted that Singapore has system-wide healthcare price transparency, and it spends 75 percent less per capita than the United States.
Then-Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), a longtime advocate for price transparency, has said that enshrining Trump’s transparency rules would be “bigger than Obamacare.”
He and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a chief proponent for Medicare for All and chairman of the Senate Health Committee, introduced the Health Care Price Transparency Act.
He concluded, “In stark contrast to Democrats’ plan, House Republicans are committed to driving down health care costs by expanding access, increasing competition, and putting patients back in charge of their health care. That’s why Senator Rick Scott and I are leading the More Affordable Care Act to help do exactly that.”
