Thune favors Senate healthcare deal with ‘bipartisan pedigree’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expressed a preference for healthcare reform through bipartisan agreements rather than a unilateral Republican approach. While not ruling out the use of budget reconciliation-a process that bypasses the filibuster-to pass conservative-favored healthcare proposals, Thune indicated no immediate plans to pursue this method, suggesting it might potentially be considered next year. Amid ongoing government shutdown debates, Democrats are pushing to renew expiring Obamacare subsidies, and Republicans, including Thune, show openness to negotiating limited extensions after the government reopens.Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) supports reconciliation to enable reforms such as deregulating health insurance plans and redirecting subsidies directly to consumers. Thune highlighted bipartisan opportunities in areas like cost-sharing reductions and legislation addressing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who are alleged to increase healthcare costs. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) is actively involved in shaping healthcare legislation, emphasizing previous efforts on PBM reforms and noting that some healthcare provisions were excluded from the final tax law. there is cautious interest among Republicans in pursuing healthcare changes with bipartisan support rather than through partisan reconciliation at this time.
Thune favors post-shutdown healthcare deal with ‘bipartisan pedigree’
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is skeptical of a go-it-alone approach to healthcare reform, telling the Washington Examiner he prefers a deal with a “bipartisan pedigree.”
Thune said Republicans weren’t ruling out reconciliation, a budget process that sidesteps the filibuster, to achieve a spate of healthcare proposals preferred by conservatives. But he made clear there are no plans to pursue that path and that reconciliation would be a conversation for next year.
“I don’t take any options off the table,” Thune said in a brief interview. “But we’re certainly not planning that at this point.”
His remarks come as Senate Democrats demand the renewal of expiring Obamacare subsidies as part of the shutdown fight. Republicans, including Thune, have expressed openness to negotiating a narrower extension once the government is reopened, but conservatives believe that more can be done with a party-line vote.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who met with Thune and other conservatives last week, is advocating reforms that deregulate health insurance plans and would send government subsidies directly to consumers, rather than insurance companies, as the law currently dictates.
“I think it’s probably the only way it’s gonna get done,” Scott said of the reconciliation process, which Republicans successfully used to pass President Donald Trump’s tax law without Democratic votes in July.
There is a strong appetite for some healthcare reforms, with Thune naming cost-sharing reductions and legislation on pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, as avenues with bipartisan support. PBMs have been accused of driving up healthcare costs as the go-between for insurers and drug benefits.
“Ideally, it’d be bipartisan. And there’s a bunch of bipartisan stuff,” Thune said.
VANCE SAYS TROOPS TO BE PAID DESPITE SHUTDOWN BUT WARNS OF ‘LIMITED POT OF MONEY’
In the House, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the majority leader, has taken an outsize role in overseeing healthcare legislation and has been meeting with committee chairmen since the first reconciliation push.
In a Wednesday morning press conference, Scalise cited past House efforts at PBM legislation and noted that some healthcare changes, including more flexible health savings accounts, were stripped from the final tax law.
Rachel Schilke contributed to this report.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
