
About one month before the Supreme Court’s ruling on ObamaCare subsidies, Republican lawmakers are all over the map about what to do about the millions of people who could lose them.
Republicans have widely agreed they need a plan if the high court strikes down a subsidies next month. But the GOP does not agree about how to help people who’d lose access to healthcare — and even whether to help them at all.
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There are more than half a dozen plans floating around, with varying degrees of details. While many lawmakers have said there is a “great deal of consensus” within the party, some of the proposals are sharply different from each other.
“There is one view that Congress can leave the subsidies in place for a short period of time until there are alternative solutions available,” Rep. Bill Flores

“There's another view that says, ‘Look, this problem was created by the way the Democrats wrote the law. Why should Republicans suddenly wind up with ownership over that problem?’”
The stakes are high: A ruling against the healthcare law could strip federal aid from an estimated 7.5 million people ahead of the 2016 elections, and people in red states would be hit particularly hard.
Leading proposals
Sen. Ron Johnson

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.): Introduced a bill to create a new system of tax credits. Sasse has sharply contrasted his plan with Johnson’s and said he opposes extending ObamaCare subsidies because he doesn’t support doing “anything to fix ObamaCare in Congress.”
Reps. Paul Ryan

Sens. John Barrasso



Sen. Richard Burr

Presidential candidates:
Sen. Marco Rubio

Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Rand Paul

Other key lawmakers:
Rep. Tom Price: Against continuing subsidies, but has put forward a full alternative including tax credits and high-risk pools. “I don’t think that I would be able to be supportive of continuing the subsidies beyond what the court would allow,” he said.
Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas): Working on a Republican Study Committee ObamaCare alternative. Flores is undecided on continuing subsidies. “I’m not saying there should absolutely not be a bridge, I’m not saying there should absolutely be a bridge.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy: Supports a temporary extension of ObamaCare subsidies until GOP can permanently replace the law. Cassiday has drafted a bill that maps out that permanent replacement, which he says would work in tandem with the GOP’s more immediate plan.
Leadership:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

House Speaker John Boehner

Conservative groups:
Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth: Opposes any extension of ObamaCare.
Cato Institute: Opposes any extension of ObamaCare. Michael Cannon, one of the architects of the case known as King v. Burwell that is now before the court, said recently: "I actually think it’s a little silly for Republicans to try to put together a response [before the ruling.]"