On Thursday, December 11th, four Republican senators joined Democratic senators in the United States Senate to vote in support of the Democratic proposal to extend the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
They cast their affirmative votes alongside all 47 Democratic senators, but the proposal fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance. The majority of Republican senators voted against the measure.
The four Republican senators are Susan Collins from Maine, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Dan Sullivan from Alaska, and Josh Hawley from Missouri.
The Democratic proposal, put forth by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, seeks to extend the federal subsidies for the expanded Affordable Care Act under President Biden until 2028.
Collins and Sullivan are up for reelection in 2026, and Democrats are vigorously campaigning to flip their seats in hopes of regaining control of the Senate from the four Republican-held seats.
In addition, Murkowski and Hawley have also called for reforms to healthcare policies.
Earlier on Thursday, the four Republican senators also voted in support of a Republican proposal to directly provide healthcare funds to the public. However, the bill failed to pass with a vote of 51-48.
The proposal, co-drafted by Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy from the Republican Party of Louisiana and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo from the Republican Party of Idaho, sought to convert funds previously used for tax credit offsetting premium increases into direct payments to individuals’ Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) by the federal government to help offset out-of-pocket medical expenses.
The plan aims to encourage people to purchase high-deductible insurance plans with lower monthly premiums and rely on HSAs to reduce individual medical costs. Additionally, the proposal would expand the availability of catastrophic health insurance plans.
After the vote, Hawley told reporters that he is willing to explore alternative solutions because efforts are needed to reduce healthcare costs.
“Let’s put more votes out there to show people that we are willing to do everything we can,” he said. “If you talk to constituents, they will tell you that their healthcare costs have spiraled out of control.”