House Passes Bill To Hold Obamacare Subsidies Until Eligibility Verified
The bill directs that insurance subsidies for Americans be held until their eligibility is confirmed, something Republicans insisted was needed after HHS granted some states leeway on implementing Obamacare over the summer. The bill appears to be headed nowhere in the Senate.
Politico: House Passes Obamacare Verification Bill
The House notched its 41st Obamacare vote on Thursday, this one aimed at the insurance subsidies to be handed out on the exchanges opening in less than three weeks. The bill, which passed 235-191, would mandate a verification program to make sure Americans don't collect more insurance subsidies than they're qualified for. HHS is already putting such a program in place, but Republicans insisted their measure is necessary in light of extra leeway the Obama administration granted states over the summer (Cunningham, 9/12).
The Associated Press: House Passes Bill To Delay Health Care Subsidies
The House passed a bill Thursday to ban new subsidies to help people buy health insurance until the Obama administration enacts a new verification system to ensure benefits go only to those who are eligible. Democrats say the bill, which has no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate, would unnecessarily delay subsidies slated to start next year. The White House has threatened a veto (Ohlemacher, 9/12).
In the Senate -
Politico: Obamacare, Keystone Collide In Senate Energy Fight
The Senate's first big energy debate since 2007 quickly devolved into an accidental collision between Obamacare and the Keystone XL pipeline. On one side is Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who has halted action on a bipartisan energy-efficiency bill while demanding a vote on an unrelated Obamacare measure. On the other is Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who wants to use the energy bill as a vehicle for a pro-Keystone amendment that he's crafted to make as much bipartisan noise as possible (Goode and Restuccia, 9/12).
In addition, a new poll indicates that Republicans are gaining ground on issues such as health care --
The Wall Street Journal: Poll Finds Republicans Gain Favor On Key Issues
On topics such as health care, Democrats have seen their long-standing advantage whittled to lows not seen in years. … The poll found Americans giving the party increasingly less credit as stewards in areas long seen as Democratic franchises. The party holds a 17-percentage-point advantage in looking after the middle class, the lowest in decades of Journal polling on the issue. The Democrats' eight-percentage-point advantage on dealing with health care also was a new low, and half the edge the party held on that issue in February (King, 9/13).