With ACA subsidies closer to expiring, Kentucky lawmakers are pitching different solutions

The Senate is slated to vote Thursday on a Democratic proposal to extend existing tax credits for three years. But the plan is not expected to gain enough traction in the chamber.

Democrats, including Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey, are repeating the same warnings they did during the record-long shutdown over the issue — warning a cutoff in ACA subsidies will have knock-on effects for everyone buying health insurance.

"People's health insurance is going to increase two, three, four times as much as what they're paying right now. Everyone's. Everywhere," McGarvey claimed in an online post. "Because this isn't an issue that cuts along urban or rural lines or cares whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. Everyone's health insurance is going to go up."

GOP Rep. James Comer said that he anticipated Congress will approve an extension, but only for a year or two as legislators work on an alternate plan, according to Spectrum News. The Kentucky lawmaker has argued the subsidies aren't sustainable because they're being paid for by Americans who are also seeing their premiums rise.

"We need to have a healthcare plan for every American," he told CNN. "Because we've got to get people in Kentucky, my home state, off Medicaid that are able-bodied and into private healthcare. But private healthcare goes up twice as much as people on the Obamacare subsidies because somebody's got to pay for those subsidies. It's a terrible situation."

Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul, who opposes the subsidies, is continuing his push for a system that would allow legalizing collective bargaining for the consumer, rather than just by trade. He says consumers should be able to buy insurance through places like Costco or Sam's Club, which could give them greater negotiating power.