On Thursday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) stated that while a one-year extension of ACA subsidies would help next month, “it won’t do that much. The best path forward would be to reform and extend these tax credits for multiple years” because there would be uncertainty.
Co-host Steve Inskeep asked, [relevant exchange begins around 2:15] “One-year extension, is there room to make some progress there?”
Coons answered, “Yes, a one-year extension would avoid significant pain next month for millions of Americans, but it won’t do that much. The best path forward would be to reform and extend these tax credits for multiple years, because the insurance markets, Steve, don’t just work on one year. If the insurance companies that provide Affordable Care Act support for millions of Americans only know they’ve got a temporary reprieve, they’re still going to price in that uncertainty. Here’s the bigger point: President Trump ran on lowering costs and making America healthy again. He’s not engaging in this. And we need to work together to make Americans healthier and reduce their costs. Right now, Trump is spending more time trying to bail out Argentina than he is trying to reduce healthcare costs for Americans.”
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