Source: AUN News
A strategy to lower drug prices was added, but a Medicare expansion was dropped.
How it began
Mr. Biden campaigned to extend Medicare benefits to encompass hearing, dental, and eye care in addition to the Affordable Care Act, with the support of prominent leftists like Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders.
The House agreed to spend $165 billion to pay for Medicare hearings, offer insurance for an additional four million people through Medicaid, and continue lowering health care costs for everyone covered by the Obamacare marketplace as lawmakers pared down a $3.5 trillion budget plan.
During discussions with Mr. Manchin, several issues were dropped, including the Medicare expansion. The plan includes a three-year extension of the increased Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are slated to expire at the end of the year, as part of an agreement he reached late last month with Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader.
Democrats also included a prescription medication cost-cutting strategy, achieving a long-standing objective of enabling Medicare to bargain for prescription drug costs directly. The plan would also place a $2,000 annual ceiling on the amount of money Medicare beneficiaries can be asked to pay out-of-pocket for prescription medications and limit how much drug manufacturers can raise their Medicare pricing.
The projected tax rises worth hundreds of billions were dropped.
How it began
Democrats had envisioned a broad initiative to make the tax code more equitable that would undo the tax cuts. Republicans forced through in 2017, significantly raising what the wealthiest individuals and corporations pay. The House bill was expected to grow to $1.5 trillion over ten years by substantially submitting taxes on businesses and the rich.
How it shrank
Ms. Sinema opposed hiking most tax rates and backed other tax-raising measures that encountered some resistance. She insisted on deleting a proposal that Mr. Manchin had pressed to include in the plan, which would have raised roughly $14 billion, and was targeted at limiting a tax cut for hedge funds and private equity managers.
Where things stand right now
Democrats included a more challenging 15 percent minimum tax on corporations to counter Ms. Sinema’s resistance to tax rate rises. In addition, they decided to raise stock buybacks by the company by 1% starting in 2023. Additionally, Democrats intend to spend $80 billion on IRS enforcement to crack down on wealthy tax cheats.
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
