News Briefs: Marketplace Subsides Are Up for Discussion in Senate

Jul 15
Jul 15, 2022

Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), the centrist Democrat who has almost singlehandedly stalled the party’s congressional agenda, said on July 15 that he would consider extending marketplace subsidies only if they do not contribute — in his view — to inflation, according to press reports. Manchin holds a quasi-veto over most elements of the Democrats’ agenda. Democrats hold control of the Senate by a single vote — with the chamber split 50-50 between the two parties, Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes in her constitutional role as President of the Senate. That is the way Democrats must pass most of their legislation, because Republicans would use the filibuster to block most progressive bills. A 60-vote majority is needed to bypass the filibuster, which means only bills with broad support across both parties could make it through the upper chamber outside budget reconciliation. Budget reconciliation is an arcane procedure that allows the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority, so long as the bill in question relates largely, in the Senate parliamentarian’s judgment, to the budget. Read more
© 2024 MMIT

Peter Johnson

Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.