The compromise from Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., would provide states with greater flexibility under the Affordable Care Act in exchange for authorizing cost-sharing reduction payments known as CSRs for two years. Those payments help offset deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income consumers who obtain insurance under the ACA.
Trump insisted he’d been involved in crafting the deal. (Then Obamacare wasn’t dead?) Republican lawmakers, however, haven’t signed on since they’ve been touting their determination to destroy Obamacare, not to save it. On the other hand, if they don’t accept the Alexander-Murray deal (which Senate leadership squashed to push the Graham-Cassidy replacement scheme), they’ll be blamed for making insurance premiums even more costly and leaving more Americans without coverage.