Scalise lists GOP priorities for health care deal
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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise speaks during a news conference on the 29th day of the federal government shutdown at the Capitol. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Wednesday said Republicans are discussing several ideas that could become GOP asks for a year-end health deal once the government reopens.
Why it matters: His comments revealed some of the health proposals on the Republican side as Democrats insist on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight.
Driving the news: Scalise said recent conversations with Speaker Mike Johnson and committee chairs have covered funding certain ACA payments known as cost-sharing reductions (CSRs), that are aimed at lowering overall premiums.
- Republicans also want to take aim at certain pharmacy benefit managers' business practices, to lower drug costs.
- A "number of health care provisions" have been under discussion for months with the three committees in the House that have jurisdiction over health care, Scalise said, in response to a question from Axios about health policy priorities.
What they're saying: "We still feel like cost-sharing reductions should have made it all the way through the process," Scalise told reporters, noting that Republicans tried to fund them in their party-line reconciliation bill only to see the provision ruled out of order by the Senate parliamentarian.
- Republicans say funding the CSR payments is a way to lower ACA premiums and save the government money.
- But many Democrats oppose the idea. Because of the way ACA subsidies are calculated, they argue that funding CSRs would also cut the subsidy that some patients receive and increase their out-of-pocket premiums.
Scalise added that discussions have also taken up PBM legislation. "We did some PBM reform legislation last Congress that made it through the House, died in the Senate, we still want to go back and look at things like that," Scalise said.
- Additional GOP health care ideas under discussion include expanding individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, which allow employers to make tax-free reimbursements to employees to use on health expenses.
Between the lines: Republicans still say that health care negotiations with Democrats won't take place until the shutdown ends.
- "Obviously we can't do that while the government is shut down but the conversations have been going on," Scalise said.
The bottom line: While ideas like a PBM overhaul have bipartisan support, widespread Republican resistance to extending the enhanced ACA subsidies could still sink any prospective deal.
