Democrats Pandemic Relief Bill Includes Temporary Obamacare Expansion

(L-R) House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA), House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-WA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and other House Democratic leaders walk out of the West Wing of the White House after meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss COVID-19 relief legislation on Feb. 5, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief measure being drafted by House Democrats features the first expansion of Obamacare in more than a decade, according to a set of legislative proposals unveiled by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Feb. 8.

One of the proposals would fully subsidize Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage for people earning up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The new eligibility table now includes people making more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, affording them subsidies for the first time and capping their total premium costs at 8.5 percent of income.