Health insurance market stabilization measures pushed to 2018

(Bloomberg) -- Two bipartisan measures designed to bring down Obamacare insurance premiums will be left out of a year-end spending bill after Republicans agreed with the party leaders to let debate slip into next month.

A vote on extending a program that provides health insurance to low-income children will also likely slide into 2018, even as several states face a funding squeeze that could leave many families without coverage.

di-susan-collins
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Republican Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Susan Collins of Maine said in a joint statement that it’s clear Congress will only pass a short-term spending fix and, therefore, they will wait until early next year for their bills to be considered in a longer-term spending package. The White House has signaled its support for both measures.

The senators said they will offer the bills “after the first of the year when the Senate will consider the omnibus spending bill, the Children’s Health Insurance Program reauthorization, funding for Community Health Centers, and other legislation that was to have been enacted this week.”

Bloomberg News
Healthcare reform
MORE FROM DIGITAL INSURANCE