House Republicans are in preliminary discussions on a healthcare package, as Obamacare continues to be the central sticking point in the ongoing government shutdown.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on Thursday that lawmakers have begun discussions in ‘informal working groups’ on what healthcare reform, aimed at lowering ballooning medical costs, would look like.
But the fight over Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), continues to drive a wedge within the House GOP. At the heart of the issue are Obamacare subsidies enhanced significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic — enhancements that are set to expire at the end of this year without congressional action.
Democrats have been demanding that any deal to end the shutdown be paired with an extension of those credits. And Republicans, while united in wanting to keep the shutdown and Obamacare two separate issues, are divided over how to handle that issue once the shutdown ends.
‘THE PANDEMIC’S OVER’: GOP, DEM SENATORS SPAR ON CAMERA OVER COSTLY OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
On one side of the divide are members of the House Freedom Caucus, who have signaled vehement opposition to any straightforward extension of the Obamacare credits.