Bernie Moreno floats Hyde Amendment ‘audit’ in Obamacare subsidy talks
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is proposing an audit of whether insurance companies are using federal tax dollars to fund abortions, a legislative compromise meant to jump-start negotiations over enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
The proposal, which would vet the companies’ compliance with the Hyde Amendment, was tucked into bill text that Moreno shared with the rest of an Obamacare working group on Wednesday and would include a “penalty system” for insurers who run afoul of the law.
For weeks, negotiators have agreed on a basic framework to renew the enhanced subsidies, a pandemic-era benefit that expired at the end of last year, but the question of abortion restrictions had emerged as the biggest stumbling block, with Democrats rebuffing Republicans’ insistence that Hyde needed to be tightened to prevent the alleged payouts.
“Look, we had Republicans saying, strictly, without any movement at all, there will never be a scenario in which a single solitary Republican will allow federal funding to pay for an abortion, period,” said Moreno, who is leading the GOP side of negotiations with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). “The Democrats were saying, well, we don’t think that’s happening, and we’re not looking to change the status quo, which is good.”
“So, what we came down to is, well, let’s do an audit to see if, in fact, insurance companies are funding abortions with federal tax dollars,” he said. “So that’s in there, and that will answer the question.”
It remains to be seen whether that language will be enough to overcome waning interest in the Obamacare subsidy negotiations, which emerged out of a 43-day government shutdown centered on healthcare.
A handful of centrist Democrats have expressed openness to rework guardrails on the subsidies, including adding income limits and fraud measures, but Democratic leadership is still intent on a “clean” extension and has so far stayed out of the bipartisan talks.
Rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, appear skeptical of the audit language, with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) noting that the Government Accountability Office has already scrutinized compliance with the Hyde Amendment.
He declined to weigh in on the merits of the bill until he’s had a chance to review the text but previously rebuffed President Donald Trump’s entreaty to congressional Republicans to be “flexible” on the abortion language.
Moreno told the Washington Examiner that he would not push for a proposal that cannot obtain the support of at least half of …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is proposing an audit of whether insurance companies are using federal tax dollars to fund abortions, a legislative compromise meant to jump-start negotiations over enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
The proposal, which would vet the companies’ compliance with the Hyde Amendment, was tucked into bill text that Moreno shared with the rest of an Obamacare working group on Wednesday and would include a “penalty system” for insurers who run afoul of the law.
For weeks, negotiators have agreed on a basic framework to renew the enhanced subsidies, a pandemic-era benefit that expired at the end of last year, but the question of abortion restrictions had emerged as the biggest stumbling block, with Democrats rebuffing Republicans’ insistence that Hyde needed to be tightened to prevent the alleged payouts.
“Look, we had Republicans saying, strictly, without any movement at all, there will never be a scenario in which a single solitary Republican will allow federal funding to pay for an abortion, period,” said Moreno, who is leading the GOP side of negotiations with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). “The Democrats were saying, well, we don’t think that’s happening, and we’re not looking to change the status quo, which is good.”
“So, what we came down to is, well, let’s do an audit to see if, in fact, insurance companies are funding abortions with federal tax dollars,” he said. “So that’s in there, and that will answer the question.”
It remains to be seen whether that language will be enough to overcome waning interest in the Obamacare subsidy negotiations, which emerged out of a 43-day government shutdown centered on healthcare.
A handful of centrist Democrats have expressed openness to rework guardrails on the subsidies, including adding income limits and fraud measures, but Democratic leadership is still intent on a “clean” extension and has so far stayed out of the bipartisan talks.
Rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, appear skeptical of the audit language, with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) noting that the Government Accountability Office has already scrutinized compliance with the Hyde Amendment.
He declined to weigh in on the merits of the bill until he’s had a chance to review the text but previously rebuffed President Donald Trump’s entreaty to congressional Republicans to be “flexible” on the abortion language.
Moreno told the Washington Examiner that he would not push for a proposal that cannot obtain the support of at least half of …
Bernie Moreno floats Hyde Amendment ‘audit’ in Obamacare subsidy talks
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is proposing an audit of whether insurance companies are using federal tax dollars to fund abortions, a legislative compromise meant to jump-start negotiations over enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
The proposal, which would vet the companies’ compliance with the Hyde Amendment, was tucked into bill text that Moreno shared with the rest of an Obamacare working group on Wednesday and would include a “penalty system” for insurers who run afoul of the law.
For weeks, negotiators have agreed on a basic framework to renew the enhanced subsidies, a pandemic-era benefit that expired at the end of last year, but the question of abortion restrictions had emerged as the biggest stumbling block, with Democrats rebuffing Republicans’ insistence that Hyde needed to be tightened to prevent the alleged payouts.
“Look, we had Republicans saying, strictly, without any movement at all, there will never be a scenario in which a single solitary Republican will allow federal funding to pay for an abortion, period,” said Moreno, who is leading the GOP side of negotiations with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). “The Democrats were saying, well, we don’t think that’s happening, and we’re not looking to change the status quo, which is good.”
“So, what we came down to is, well, let’s do an audit to see if, in fact, insurance companies are funding abortions with federal tax dollars,” he said. “So that’s in there, and that will answer the question.”
It remains to be seen whether that language will be enough to overcome waning interest in the Obamacare subsidy negotiations, which emerged out of a 43-day government shutdown centered on healthcare.
A handful of centrist Democrats have expressed openness to rework guardrails on the subsidies, including adding income limits and fraud measures, but Democratic leadership is still intent on a “clean” extension and has so far stayed out of the bipartisan talks.
Rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, appear skeptical of the audit language, with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) noting that the Government Accountability Office has already scrutinized compliance with the Hyde Amendment.
He declined to weigh in on the merits of the bill until he’s had a chance to review the text but previously rebuffed President Donald Trump’s entreaty to congressional Republicans to be “flexible” on the abortion language.
Moreno told the Washington Examiner that he would not push for a proposal that cannot obtain the support of at least half of …
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