(The Center Square) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act” by a vote of 216 to 211 on Wednesday, and the bill is likely to be defeated in the Senate.
The bill, which is almost certain to fail to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, is a Republican alternative to expanding Obamacare premium tax credits. Congress temporarily expanded the PTC during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its return to original pre-pandemic levels will partially contribute to premium increases in 2026.
“For too long, Democrats have forced hard-working American taxpayers to bail out big health insurance companies by hundreds of billions of dollars, while Americans pay for increasingly expensive care with fewer choices, poorer quality and worse health outcomes,” Republican House leadership said in a statement.
“The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act puts patients first,” they continued. “It does exactly what its title promises and more: lower premiums, expand access to affordable, quality care, give every American more choice and flexibility to choose the coverage that best suits their needs, and bring greater transparency to the health care system.
Key reforms in the bill include increasing oversight and transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, reforming medical reimbursement arrangements, and excluding stop-loss policies from the definition of health insurance coverage.
Most notably, the bill would eventually fund cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments and relax restrictions on employers setting up association health plans.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that unlocking CSR payments would lower overall baseline premiums for all Americans by 11%, even though 300,000 people could lose their existing health insurance each year between 2027 and 2035.
However, new rules for health association plans will provide coverage for 200,000 people who are currently uninsured. Allowing small business owners and independent workers to join together across industries to create association health plans would increase the total number of people participating in these plans by an estimated 700,000 people.
Democrats generally condemned the bill after it passed.
“Instead of extending the Affordable Care Act’s credits, Republican leadership is pushing a health care plan that does nothing to solve the crisis they created,” House budget ranking member Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said on X. “They are ignoring millions of Americans whose health care premiums are skyrocketing.”
The Senate is unlikely to vote on, let alone pass, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act before lawmakers go on vacation, meaning premiums for millions of Americans will skyrocket in two weeks.
