Republican Says America Must Decide Who To Blame
Republican Sen. James Lankford said voters — not political commentators — will ultimately determine who is responsible if enhanced ObamaCare subsidies expire at the end of the year. He also defended recent Republican efforts to pursue a different approach to fixing the nation’s health insurance system.
During an appearance Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, Lankford was asked about concerns from within his own party that Republicans could face political backlash if Congress allows the COVID-era tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans to lapse.
Those credits, first expanded during the pandemic, have lowered monthly premiums for millions of Americans purchasing insurance through the federal marketplace.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has publicly warned that inaction could carry consequences at the ballot box. But Lankford said Americans are capable of examining the issue for themselves.
“We’ll allow the American people to decide where responsibility truly lies once they look at how this situation developed,” Lankford said when asked whether Murkowski’s warning was justified.
Earlier in the week, Murkowski told CNN that voters tend to lose patience when Congress fails to act on issues they see as urgent. She said lawmakers have a responsibility to address major policy questions, particularly when households have come to rely on existing programs.
“When people feel they’ve been waiting on Congress to act and nothing happens, there are consequences,” Murkowski said. She added that failing to address the issue could have political ramifications.
Lankford, however, argued that extending subsidies yet again avoids the real problem. He said Republicans have attempted to advance alternative health care solutions, while Democrats continue to favor additional federal spending.
According to Lankford, the current subsidy structure primarily benefits insurance companies while masking deeper issues within the Affordable Care Act.
To illustrate his point, Lankford cited data from his home state of Oklahoma.
“Over a six-year period, premiums on ObamaCare marketplace plans increased nearly 200 percent,” he said. “During that same time, standard commercial insurance increased by about 29 percent.”
He said that disparity highlights what Republicans view as long-standing structural flaws in the law.
“There are serious problems built into ObamaCare,” Lankford said. “Those problems have been covered up with one subsidy after another instead of being addressed directly.”
As Congress debates the future of the enhanced tax credits, Republicans and Democrats remain sharply divided — not only over whether to extend the subsidies, but over whether the Affordable Care Act itself can be fixed without fundamental reform.
