The House of Representatives passed a bill to revive and extend COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies thanks to17 House Republicans who went across party lines to support the legislation after Democrats were successful in forcing a vote via a mechanism called a privileged resolution. That bill passed 230-196.

A discharge petition is a mechanism for getting legislation considered on the House floor even if the majority’s leadership is opposed to it, provided the petition gets a majority of House lawmakers’ signatures.

Ohio Reps …Mike Carey, R-Ohio, Dave Joyce, R-Ohio and Max Miller, R-Ohio

The 17 Republicans who voted for the legislation included three Ohio Reps …Mike Carey, R-Ohio, Dave Joyce, R-Ohio and Max Miller, R-Ohio.

U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio-15), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statement after voting to extend Covid-era Enhanced Premium Tax Credits through the Affordable Care Act (ACA):

“I voted today to extend the enhanced tax credits for ACA plans. The cost of health care is still too high because of the failed Obamacare policies that removed choice and raised premiums with punishing government mandates on our working families. Close to 45,000 Ohioans in our district currently have these plans, and I want to make sure that they do not lose access to a plan that they have relied on as Congress continues addressing the high cost of health care.

“I will continue working with my House colleagues to advance bipartisan proposals that provide more affordable, more accessible health care options directly to the working families of our district.

“The partisan Obamacare system as is it exists has raised costs for everyone, but I want to give Ohioans certainty as we work to unravel the higher costs Americans face from the failed policies of the past.”

Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) released the following statement on his vote to temporarily extend the Affordable Care Act’s Advanced Premium Tax Credits. If signed into law, this bill would extend the credits for three years.

“The vast majority of Americans can see that our current healthcare system is not working for them. Democrats claimed the Affordable Care Act was meant to provide quality care and lower costs. Instead, the American taxpayer and federal government are subsidizing immensely profitable insurers, while people’s premiums continue to skyrocket. A clean, three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act’s Advanced Premium Tax Credits is not the solution to a deeply flawed system that was created without any off-ramp.”

“However, as President Trump said earlier this week, it is time for our party to take control of the issues surrounding healthcare and affordability. I supported this legislation to make clear that Congress cannot ignore the consequences of the credits’ expiration and to force a real conversation about responsible, short-term relief paired with meaningful reforms. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House, Senate, and the White House collectively on this issue. Together, we must find solutions that are centered around bringing down the cost of health care for patients while maintaining the quality of care they expect and deserve.”

The other 14 were Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa.; Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa.; Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas; Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y.; Will Hurd, R-Colo. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., Zach Nunn, R-Iowa; Maria Salazar, R-Fla.; Dave Valadao, R-Calif.; Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.; and Rob Wittman, R-Va.

The group of moderates argued that a failure to extend a reformed version of them would force millions of Americans to grapple with skyrocketing healthcare costs this year.

It is unlikely the three-year extension will pass the US Senate. In December similar legislation led by Senate Democrats failed to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance.