“I’m going to take a pause,” Moreno told reporters Thursday, accusing Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of working against a middle-ground compromise.
The signs looked promising for a deal earlier this month after the House voted to approve a three-year, $80 billion extension of the subsidies, throwing the issue to Moreno and other senators trying to broker a deal.
“The Democrats that we’re talking to are absolutely there in good faith. They absolutely want to get a deal done,” Moreno said. “But what I’ve seen in my year here is, unless the Democrat leader wants a deal to happen, it just will not happen.”
The deal sketched out by Moreno and other senators is not a three-year extension as approved on Jan. 8 by the House, but instead a two-year deal with income limits on who can get the federal aid, plus some reforms to curb fraud and abuse in the Obama health law.
The extra subsidies expired on December 31. Every day that goes by without a deal makes it more likely that Congress won’t be able to come to any agreement.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” said U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, one of the moderate Republicans in the House who have tried to help broker a deal.
While Moreno is the only Ohio lawmaker involved in the talks, three Ohio Republicans voted in the House for a three-year extension of the subsidies — not because they supported that idea, but because they wanted to see further negotiations on a compromise plan.
“I will continue working with my House colleagues to advance bipartisan proposals that provide more affordable, more accessible health care options,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus (whose district includes parts of Clark and Miami counties).
Carey voted for the extension along with Republican Reps. Max Miller of the Cleveland area and Dave Joyce of Geauga County.
The rumblings of trouble on Capitol Hill came as the White House on Thursday released an outline of what President Trump wants done on health care. It includes sending money directly to Americans to help them buy their own health insurance.
“We’re calling it the Great Health Care Plan,” Trump said in a videotaped message from the Oval Office.
“The government is going to pay the money directly to you,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever heard of that before, and that’s the way it is.”
In talks at the Capitol, Moreno has tried to stress the importance of a deal that has a strong buy-in from both parties.
“We need a 70-vote product,” Moreno said.
But it may be that asking Congress to find a compromise on the bitterly contested issue of health insurance — during a midterm election year — might be a bridge too far.
“We are in a little bit of a pothole,” Moreno acknowledged. “We all know that time is precious.”
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