ACA fixes put on hold, GOP senators say

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., asked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday to hold off on including Affordable Care Act fixes in a stopgap spending measure, avoiding a potential showdown between the two chambers of Congress (Source: “In reversal, Senate Republicans will keep ACA fixes out of stopgap spending bill,” Fierce Healthcare, Dec. 20, 2017).

McConnell had promised to include measures to stabilize the ACA—including funding cost-sharing reduction payments—in the Senate's spending bill in an effort to gain Collins’ support, whose vote on the tax bill was crucial. Collins' call for ACA stabilization legislation was in response to the tax bill's repeal of the law's individual mandate, which could further destabilize the marketplaces.

Collins and Alexander said in a joint statement that they would return to ACA fixes in the new year, and that they would seek bipartisan input. The House had set its sights on a more conservative spending bill, according to press reports, which would have likely brought it into conflict with the Senate with just days to reach an agreement. 

Collins said in the statement that House Speaker Paul Ryan had contacted her, and said the House is "committed to passing legislation to provide for high-risk pools and other reinsurance mechanisms" like those in her legislation. However, Ryan has also distanced himself from the ACA stabilization bills, as he has told other congressional leaders that he played no role in McConnell's deal with Collins.