WATCH: Senate meets before vote on health care proposals, each likely to fail

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is headed toward a partisan, contested vote on health care this week after Republicans said Tuesday they are united on a plan that, for now, would allow health care subsidies in the coronavirus era to expire.

Watch the Senate floor in the video player above.

Both the Republican plan, to replace subsidies with new savings accounts, and the Democratic bill to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits for three years, lack the bipartisan support needed to pass. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Democratic legislation does not include enough reforms to curb fraud or limit high-income recipients. Thune said this legislation “will fail.”

Read more: Republicans in the swing district are bracing for political fallout if health care subsidies end

Meanwhile, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republicans’ plan a “sham” and said the bill was “dead on arrival.”

The onus is on Republicans to “vote with us,” Schumer said of Democrats, who were forced to shut down the government for 43 days over the issue.

With Republicans and Democrats unable to agree – or even truly negotiate with each other – millions of people could see increases in their insurance premiums when the tax breaks expire in January. Both sides blame the other for the increasingly likely failure of Congress to act, bringing the issue into a midterm election year with political talking points but few concessions on subsidies that have helped keep costs low for many of the more than 24 million Americans.

Temporary unity of the Republican Party after years of disagreement

Republican unity around a single plan, in the Senate at least, comes as the party has been wrangling for more than a decade over how to replace former President Barack Obama’s law, also known as Obamacare.

He watches: Johnson faces growing frustration with Republicans as key issues reveal rifts

The legislation, introduced by Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, emerged this week from several different proposals from Republican senators, including some that would have extended tax credits with new limits.

Despite these differences, Republicans worked to show unity as they emerged from Tuesday’s lunch meeting. Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who recently proposed legislation to expand subsidies while setting new income limits, said he is now “overly focused” on Cassidy and Crapo’s legislation. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who had his own bill to cut health care taxes, said the consensus bill “is not perfect, but I’m willing to try it.”

“I think Republicans can’t do anything,” Hawley said after the meeting. “I think we should do everything we can to try to lower the cost of health care.”

Read more: 4 Tips for Navigating Higher ACA Health Care Premiums

Thune said there will now be “something that Republicans will be able to talk about and support and vote for, and then we’ll see.”

There was less consensus in the House, where moderate Republicans up for re-election were pressing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, to extend benefits with new reforms, while the right wing of the party demanded deeper reforms to the Affordable Care Act. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that GOP leadership will present options to members on Wednesday for potential votes next week.

Suggested health savings accounts

The bill introduced by Cassidy and Crapo would allow current subsidies, which were first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, to expire. The legislation would then make payments into new health savings accounts for the next two years, for enrollees making less than 700% of the federal poverty level who choose lower-cost, higher-deductible bronze or catastrophic health insurance plans.

Eligible enrollees between the ages of 18 and 49 will receive $1,000 annually, while those between the ages of 50 and 64 will receive $1,500. The money may be spent to defray incidental expenses such as copayments and deductibles, or to purchase other qualifying health-related items directly from businesses, but not to cover monthly premiums.

Cassidy and Crapo say their bill provides better support for Americans than expiring subsidies, because it delivers money directly to people, giving them the power to decide how to spend or save it — a message that President Donald Trump has echoed in recent weeks. Republicans say the plan could also reduce fraud in the health care system, pointing to a Government Accountability Office report that found some fraudulent beneficiaries were able to obtain coverage.

The bill also includes new language limiting the use of Affordable Care Act funds for abortion — a deal-breaker for moderate Democrats who say they were willing to negotiate on the issue.

Uncertainty about costs

Health analysts warn that the plan will do little to help low-income Affordable Care Act enrollees who rely on subsidies to cover monthly insurance fees.

The Republicans’ plan also would require enrollees to choose higher-deductible plans to be eligible for the payments — meaning heavy users of health insurance could end up with out-of-pocket costs far higher than the new influx of money into their pockets.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the GOP proposal “leaves middle-class Americans saddled with high insurance premiums and big insurers looking like bandits by selling junk plans to families who desperately need health coverage.”

“Instead of working with Democrats to stop this health cost crisis, Republicans are selling snake oil,” Wyden said.

Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking contributed to this report.