House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) privately pushed President Donald Trump to stand down from his plan to offer a compromise extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Johnson reportedly told Trump that there weren't enough votes for such a proposal in the House. Democrats made the extension of the subsidies their critical issue in the federal government shutdown that dragged on for weeks.
"The warning underscores the hurdles facing any deal in the coming weeks. Lawmakers have a mid-December deadline for healthcare votes promised as a condition for Democrats voting to end the government shutdown earlier this month. The enhanced subsidies expire at the end of the year, affecting more than 20 million people who benefit from the tax credits," said the report. "On Tuesday night, Trump told reporters that he doesn’t support a two-year extension of the subsidies. 'I’d rather not extend them at all,' he said, adding that 'some kind of extension might be necessary to get something done.'"
"The emerging White House plan would extend the subsidies temporarily, while imposing income caps for ACA enrollees to qualify, as well as measures to crack down on healthcare fraud, according to people familiar with the matter," said the report. "Several Republicans want to pair the subsidy wind-down with the creation of health savings accounts, an approach Trump has praised."
Trump's plan was set to be revealed this week, but he punted at the last minute to give himself more time to work on it.
A major sticking point has been abortion, according to the report. The ACA already prohibits federal funding from going to abortion coverage, but states and private insurers can fund that coverage separately if they wish; Republicans want to change the law so even that is illegal under any plan that receives ACA subsidies.
Democrats have signaled that while they are open to income caps and anti-fraud measures, they draw a hard line against abortion restrictions — but many Republicans appear to be just as resolutely against any compromise that doesn't do so.