As Republicans formulate a plan to potentially extend key health insurance subsidies that are at the center of the government shutdown fight, House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie warned in an interview Tuesday that any extension would “absolutely” need to include a crackdown on so-called “phantom” Obamacare enrollees.
The move is sure to spark a clash with Democrats, who successfully challenged similar provisions from Guthrie’s committees when they were included in the GOP megabill that passed over the summer. But now Republicans have more leverage as Democrats push for the continuation of tax credits that are set to expire Dec. 31.
“If there’s going to be an extension of those tax credits, the program integrity stuff … absolutely needs to be in place,” Guthrie said.
He was referencing a suite of Republican policies that would put new curbs on reenrollment for the enhanced insurance subsidies that are at the core of Democrats’ shutdown demands. Republicans and influential conservative health lobbyists complain the status quo leads to waste, fraud and abuse.
“Once you sign up, you’re on it forever,” Guthrie said.
Democrats argue those complaints aren’t grounded in reality, and the GOP push could set off a larger fight over how Americans enrolled in the program. Many Democrats, especially progressives, are worried about adding new barriers to access coverage, which they argue would disproportionately hit low-income Americans.
When Republicans tried to insert new curbs in their party-line megabill, Senate Democrats successfully challenged the provisions with the chamber’s parliamentarian.
Now House and Senate GOP leaders are making a big push for a crackdown on auto-enrollment as they ramp up talks among themselves and with White House officials about a possible subsidy extension and other conservative health care policy initiatives.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune in particular frequently references phantom enrollment as one problem Republicans want to tackle. At least some Democrats are open to negotiating on the topic, and there have been quiet, informal conversations in the Senate about that piece specifically.
“I understand what their issue is,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said in an interview Thursday. “And if they would work with us and have a real negotiation on how we fix the premiums, I think that is something that we could address.”
Kelly confirmed he’s talked to “several” Republican colleagues about the policy, adding, “I think they have some points.” The other “other side” of the argument, he said, is that “folks that don’t have a lot of means, when you put barriers in front of them, they tend to drop their health insurance.”
Robert King contributed to this report.
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