By Joselyn King
The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito didn’t expect either of two competing health care reform bills rejected in the Senate on Thursday to pass, but she does see a temporary stop-gap measure being approved next week before Congress goes on holiday break.
Capito, R-W.Va., spoke on the issue during a conference call with state reporters Thursday morning.
Health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act passed during the Obama administration is set to expire for millions of Americans at the end of the month. Capito noted that despite the Senate’s failure on Thursday to pass a bill, health care reform is a top priority in Washington.
“I think if they both fail … the problem is still there and we haven’t helped anybody,” she said. “I envision that next week before we leave for the Christmas holiday we may have some kind of stopgap extension of some sort to carry people over.
“I don’t think this will be the end of the issue, because it affects millions of Americans. I think there will be other ideas that will pop up. They probably won’t be permanent solutions, but will be temporary transitional solutions.”
Any health care proposal in the Senate requires 60 votes for passage. There are presently 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two Independents in the Senate.
A Democratic plan voted on and rejected in the Senate called for a three-year extension of the ACA subsidies. Republicans, meanwhile, put forth an unsuccessful proposal to provide up to $1,500 a year in payments for health savings accounts for Americans earning up to 700% of the federal poverty level.
Under the GOP proposal, federal money received couldn’t be used for abortion services or gender reassignment procedures.
Capito said the Democratic plan did nothing to halt the rising costs of health care or stop fraud in the system, while the GOP proposal was focused on allowing the patient to make medical decisions.
She called the Republicans’ “Freedom For Patients Act” a “more permanent solution.”
“It would lower costs, and allow families to have more control over their decisions,” Capito said. “Specifically, the plan sends money to the patient. The Democratic plan sends all the money — we’re talking $40 billion — to insurance companies. It also works to help lower insurance premiums and health care costs. It will save taxpayer dollars because it is fully funded. This is a permanent forward-looking solution that attacks what the real issues are,” she added.
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