U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins both voted Thursday to advance a proposed three-year extension of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The two were divided, however, on a Republican plan that would have replaced the subsidies with health savings accounts.
Both measures ultimately failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance, although senators continue to negotiate on a potential compromise before the ACA premium enhanced tax credits expire at year's end.
King, an independent, voted for the three-year extension put forward by Democrats. But he opposed the Republican bill, which would have deposited $1,000 annually into health savings accounts for consumers who purchase bronze- or catastrophic-level insurance through ACA marketplaces. Eligible families could have received $1,500 for each person.
“Today’s votes represented a choice: a simple extension of the current health care insurance tax credits to stabilize costs or a complicated proposal that will not address the impending premium increases and threatens reproductive health," King said in a statement.
King cited statistics showing that nearly 20,000 Maine residents might drop out of the insurance pool if the subsidies go away. State officials have estimated that premiums will rise, on average, 88% for Maine residents who purchase insurance through the state's ACA marketplace.
“We must not let that happen," King said. "I will continue to seek a bipartisan solution.”
Collins was one of four Republicans to vote to advance the Democratic bill. She also voted in support of the GOP proposal on health savings accounts.
In a statement, Collins said she supports an extension because the problems in the ACA cannot be fixed overnight.
"Families in Maine and across the country are struggling with the high cost of health insurance, and I want to prevent an unaffordable spike in health insurance premiums for many Americans who rely on these COVID-era subsidies," Collins said in a statement. "I voted to proceed to both bills, but neither is the perfect solution to this problem. Therefore, I filed amendments to both bills with changes that would protect the vulnerable Americans who are receiving these enhanced premium tax credits, protect the taxpayer, and reform this system to protect against fraud."
Earlier this week, Collins had unveiled a competing proposal with another Republican senator that proposed a two-year extension on the ACA subsidies but that also would have re-imposed income caps and required all consumers to pay at least $25 a month toward their premiums.
Both of Maine's senators have been involved in bipartisan negotiations over the expiring ACA subsidies, which will increase costs for 22 million Americans starting Jan. 1.
King was among eight members of the Democratic caucus who broke with their party last month and agreed to reopen the federal government after securing a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, for a mid-December vote on a Democratic bill. But King and the others were loudly criticized by some Democrats who viewed the shutdown as their best leverage with Republicans.
As chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins was also involved in negotiations on a temporary spending bill to reopen the government. But on Thursday, the Maine Democratic Party accused Collins of repeatedly blocking earlier attempts to extend the subsidies despite her vote in support of advancing the Democrats' bill.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who hopes to challenge Collins next year, echoed those comments in a statement.
"Now, we are nearing the end of open enrollment, and Maine people are facing steep increases to their health care costs, which will cause many of them to forgo insurance coverage altogether and drive up the costs for other people across Maine," Mills said. "What Susan Collins did today is exactly what Maine people are tired of: taking votes that provide political cover after doing nothing to actually solve the problem.”
