Senate Republicans met Wednesday to talk about what to do if the Supreme Court grants their wish and guts subsidies for Obamacare, and might just have the beginnings of a plan for saving their own bacon. The problem for them is that 22 of them will be running for reelection in states that use the federal health insurance exchange, and that means that 22 of them will have constituents calling for their heads if their subsidies disappear. In fact, two-thirds of the people who
are in danger of losing subsidies live in Republican states. So they have to do something, but they can't make it seem like they want to continue Obamacare. Here's the
initial outline of what they're working on.
In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, Republicans crafted the outline of a plan that would extend the subsidies for a period of time—potentially through 2017—and couple it with a delayed repeal of big-ticket pieces of Obamacare, such as the individual and employer mandates. […]
Republicans plan to frame the extension as a way to help people who would lose subsidies because of the law's flawed construction, not as an extension of Obamacare. Sources said they may even call it a "grandfathering" of the existing subsidies.
"We're going to be prepared," said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). "We wouldn't call them subsidies. But we'd certainly keep people whole so that they wouldn't suffer because of this interim time."
They're working on a slightly more polished, but no less nonsensical, version of this
Thuneism, Sen. John Thune's infamous tweet, "Six million people risk losing their health care subsidies, yet @POTUS continues to deny that Obamacare is bad for the American people." Here's Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): "As far as I’m concerned that’s the No 1. consideration—that people aren't hurt any more by Obamacare. […] Be clear that this because of the way this law is written if the court happens to strike down [the subsidies]. It's not the Supreme Court’s fault. It’s not the people who voted against it. It's the people who voted for this bill." Yes, the hurt inflicted was millions of people getting help to be able to afford health insurance and now Republicans are going to save them from being hurt any more. By taking their insurance away in two years.
Good luck with that messaging.
Speaking of good luck, "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has spoken out against a long-term extension of the subsidies, did not speak in the meeting." Short of locking Cruz in a closet when they're trying to pass this bill, preventing him from grandstanding on this and blocking it is going to be a challenge. As is the House. Because it is the House. Which they're totally planning for: "'The consensus is that we need to be ready immediately. And it would be good to have a unified response, and when I mean unified I mean not just the Senate but the House as well,' said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, a former House member."
Good luck with that, too.