Mario Díaz-Balart says health care subsidies could be saved if Democrats let government reopen

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010, U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart voted against it. But today, he represents more Insurance Marketplace enrollees than any member of the U.S. House.

The Hialeah Republican wants to make sure subsidies set to expire at the end of the year don’t simply vanish. But he remains as concerned as ever that the program better known as Obamacare must see major changes or it will continue to drive insurance premiums up.

“We seriously have to make some reforms, not throw good money after bad,” he said.

The Kaiser Family Foundation released data this month verifying Florida has more at stake than any other state when it comes to ACA subsides. U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a South Florida Democrat, said Miami-Dade could be the epicenter of a nationwide health care crisis, as four of the five congressional districts across the U.S. with the most ACA enrollees cover parts of Florida’s most populous county.

“It’s just alarming this is affecting one state so much, Florida, and one county, Miami-Dade,” she said.

But while Wilson and other Democrats point fingers at Republican leadership in Congress, Díaz-Balart scoffs at Republicans being blamed. House Republicans, he said, voted to keep the government open. But Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, refuse to support a deal.

That, Díaz-Balart said, is why the nation now endures its third consecutive week of a federal shutdown with no clear end in sight.

“Schumer, who in the past said shutting down the government was irresponsible for any reason, voted against an extension to the 3rd of November,” Díaz-Balart said, referencing the House-passed budget resolution. He noted that the legislation would allow lawmakers to get back to work more than a month before ACA subsidies disappear.

“They don’t expire till December,” Díaz-Balart said. “That issue is still alive. It just proves this shutdown has nothing to do with health care.”

If the Senate were to just pass the House resolution to reopen the government, Díaz-Balart said, then conversations would start anew on what happens with subsidies.

He’s not the only Florida Republican making that argument. U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Miami-Dade Republican, said GOP-supported legislation can address the concern with ACA.

“I have cosponsored a bill to extend the subsidies for a year. It’s interesting that it was the Democrats who put the expiration date when they passed the original bill,” Giménez said. “A number of Republicans want to extend the subsidy. We need the Democrats to open so we can fix the mess they created.”

Díaz-Balart said there is still time to address some of the flaws with the current subsidy system, one that Democrats designed when they controlled Washington and which was always supposed to be temporary to address the coronavirus crisis. But that only happens if the government reopens and lawmakers engage in the messy business of legislating, he added.

Importantly, the subsidy-extending position held by Díaz-Balart and Giménez doesn’t reflect the will of the entire GOP caucus, or even all Florida colleagues. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican running for Governor, told Fox Business the subsidies were always bad policy.

“This program has never worked. It’s always been more expensive,” Donalds said. “The Democrats just want more subsidies, and now they’re holding the government hostage because of it.”

Of note, not every district in Florida faces the same specter as Miami-Dade when it comes to subsidies expiring. While Díaz-Balart’s district has 300,000 ACA enrollees, Donalds’ Naples-based district next door has less than half that, around 119,000.

But importantly, Díaz-Balart doesn’t argue with Donalds’ fundamental argument that Obamacare, by taking the approach of subsidizing health care in the first place, has been the reason premiums leapt more than 50% over the course of the last decade.

Indeed, Díaz-Balart notes that the percentage of subsidies increased substantially during the COVID pandemic, and the subsidies expiring at the end of 2025 would simply return percentages to 2014 rates. That represents a massive cost increase for consumers because the price of insurance has risen dramatically.

“Let’s assume nothing happens on these subsidies and they expire. Does Obamacare go away? No way. We go back to — Obamacare. It’s Obamacare without the COVID increase,” he said.

But he acknowledges that a decade of subsidies has created a tough situation for his constituents and many others.

“Now Democrats are saying, if we go back to just Obamacare, it’s going to be too catastrophic for the American people,” he said. “The sad part is, because Obamacare dramatically increases health care costs, I think they have a valid point. But that’s only because they have lied to the American people since Day 1.”