But now that the partisan exercise is over, some senators are expressing tepid optimism about the path forward toward compromise. Lawmakers who have sought a bipartisan path forward in recent weeks have said the failed votes could be key to sealing a deal that would expand subsidies with reforms aimed at tackling fraud. Four Republican senators joined Democrats on Thursday to vote to extend the subsidies, indicating an agreement could be possible.
“After we have failed, I like to think we are succeeding,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, told CBS News on Wednesday. Murkowski voted to extend the tax credits, along with GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
The health care issue remained unresolved during the battle to shut down the government earlier this fall, when Democrats tried to extend subsidies in exchange for their vote to reopen the government. Republicans would not negotiate during the shutdown. But the end of the standoff yielded no agreement.
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Some Republicans are open to a temporary extension of the increased tax credits, recognizing the cliff that some 22 million Americans will face when they expire. But a compromise would likely include reforms to the program to address income caps and fraud, along with a phase-out of the credits.
Republicans have floated a number of ideas to address health care costs, including shorter-term extensions that impose new limits.
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who this week introduced his own plan to extend the credits for a year before funneling the money into HSA-style accounts in 2027, expressed optimism about a possible extension ahead of Thursday’s votes.
“I still think we’re gaining momentum every day, and I’m going to keep going until someone tells me to stop,” Marshall told reporters.
But Marshall indicated he doesn’t see a resolution before senators leave town for the winter holidays later this month.
“We can’t even get a Democrat to agree on the fraud part of our bill. And if we can’t agree on addressing fraud, it’s hard to come up with these other steps,” Marshall said. “I really think we are making progress on a bipartisan basis and pointing to a resolution in January.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, outlined a shorter timeline to reach a compromise, saying Democrats will use the coming price hikes as a key political issue ahead of the midterm elections.
“Now is the time to make it happen,” Tillis told CBS News.
Tillis said Senate Democratic leaders are likely not interested in a compromise because “they see the political opportunity this presents.” But among ordinary people, the North Carolina Republican said he expects a “sufficient number” would support an expansion that addresses fraud. He pointed to a proposal from Collins that would extend tax credits for two years and include income caps.
Before the votes, Tillis said the partisan measures would have to fail for some Democrats to be willing to reach a compromise.
“It’s amazing sometimes what can be done in a week,” Tillis said. “But we still have a week.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat who negotiated a deal with Republicans last month to end the shutdown, also indicated she was open to a compromise.
“I’m willing to come to the table and I think we would be better served if, after we get through these votes, we sit down and come to a compromise to address the real costs that people face in health care,” Shaheen said on the Senate floor Thursday. “And I’m willing to do that.”
Shaheen acknowledged the Republicans’ ideas and called the involvement “constructive.” But she emphasized that time is short to extend the tax credits.
“I know there are members in both parties who want to find a responsible path forward,” she said. “I welcome the discussion about where we can find common ground… But first we must prevent millions of Americans from losing coverage in the coming months.”
Even Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not ruled out expanding tax credits in the near future.
“The question is, are there enough Democrats who actually want to solve the problem, to work with the Republicans, many of us, who want to solve the problem? Or are they going to succumb to their leadership and probably where their far-left base is and just want to make it a political issue?” Thune said.
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The South Dakota Republican said, “If you were to do something about the reforms and structure this program differently so that it puts downward pressure on premiums instead of upward pressure, I think you could do something.”
Thune said discussions are underway between rank-and-file members on both sides who “have an interest in resolving it.”
There is discussion on Capitol Hill about Republicans choosing to go it alone on health care and use reconciliation, which would allow them to pass changes with a simple majority. Thune said he wouldn’t rule anything out, but said he prefers a two-pronged approach.
“If we could do something at age 60, those results tend to be more sustainable over time… but I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Thune said.
The optimism around a bipartisan path forward in the Senate comes as some Republican moderates in the House of Representatives have begun buck GOP leaders and try to force a vote on their own proposal. House Republicans in vulnerable districts have sounded the alarm about the political consequences of not addressing the coming price increases. But Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he will not put a tax credit extension up for a vote, saying the majority of the Republican conference does not support the move.
On Wednesday, moderate Republicans filed a discharge petition aimed at demanding a vote on a bill to extend ACA subsidies. Some of them are also supporting a Democratic petition to force a vote. The petitions require 218 signatures to bring the underlying bills to the floor, and both have already gathered enough Republican support to pass if all Democrats sign on.
Murkowski pointed to the series of recent proposals from across the Capitol as evidence of shared interest in finding a solution.
“Look at the different proposals that are out there. Whether it’s the all-Democratic proposal here or the bipartisan proposals in the House of Representatives or the all-Republican proposals here — there are a lot of shared elements, right,” she told CBS News. “There’s a lot that we just have to bring together into one package that makes sense, understanding that it’s going to be short-term, and go from there.”
When asked why this hasn’t happened yet, Murkowski told reporters: “I don’t know.”
“I think we need to point out our failures before we can applaud our successes,” she said.
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