(Washington) The US Senate on Thursday rejected two competing bills to prevent millions of Americans from experiencing an explosion in their health insurance costs, a few weeks before the expiration of major subsidies.
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These subsidies for the public health insurance program “Obamacare”, intended for lower-income households, were at the heart of the dispute in October between Republican and Democratic elected officials which led to the longest budgetary paralysis in the history of the United States.
The issue of health care costs has become a major theme in American political debate in recent weeks, with the Democratic opposition hoping to take up the subject in view of the crucial mid-term legislative elections in November 2026.
If Congress fails to agree to extend these subsidies, health insurance costs are expected to more than double in January for 24 million Americans who use Obamacare, according to KFF, a think tank specializing in health issues.
And according to the Urban Institute think tank, nearly 5 million beneficiaries could lose all health coverage in 2026.
Donald Trump has so far not expressed his position on the subject, leaving his lieutenants in Congress to struggle to decide which path to adopt.
A Republican bill plans to replace subsidies paid to insurers with allowances allocated directly to individuals.
But in the absence of support from elected Democrats, the initiative failed to reach the threshold of 60 votes out of 100 necessary to be adopted in the Senate.
“Status quo”
“They used scotch and glue to craft this ridiculous proposal that cannot be taken seriously,” said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Because his camp is proposing a three-year extension of the subsidies.
But again, the bill was rejected in the Senate with only 51 votes in favor, due to the strong objections of the Republican majority.
Its leader, John Thune, denounced a text which does nothing to fight against “waste, fraud, and delusional abuse” according to him of the “Obamacare” program, which he also accuses of having “completely failed” to control the rise in health insurance costs for its beneficiaries.
“The Democrats don’t have a plan for health care. They want to prolong the status quo,” launched the Republican tenor from the hemicycle.
Even if the Senate managed to break the deadlock to pass a bill to avoid an explosion in health insurance costs, it is also not certain that the House of Representatives would approve it in turn.
Because the factions, even within the parties, are even more marked in the lower house: several Republicans have revealed numerous sometimes divergent projects, even if most are vehemently opposed to an extension of subsidies for “Obamacare”.
Without a clear strategy or direction in Congress, and with less than three weeks until the 1er January, the chances of reaching a consensus between the two parties seem very slim.
