Colorado's congressional representatives react to 3-year Affordable Care Act tax credit extension vote

Some of Colorado's congressional representatives are reacting to the 3-year Affordable Care Act tax credit extension passed by the House on Thursday.   

In a 230 to 196 vote, 17 Republicans joined all Democrats in favor of the measure. The legislation is unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, but some lawmakers are hopeful it will serve as the starting point for a broader compromise.  

The Affordable Care Act tax credits subsidized premiums for millions of Americans who have coverage in state-run exchanges. One analysis found that premiums were set to double without the enhanced credits. 

Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican representing Colorado's 8th Congressional District, has joined other Republicans on Capitol Hill calling for reforms citing a General Accounting Office audit that found subsidies going to 68,000 people who were deceased. 

"We, of course, we need to make sure that we have health care that's available for folks, but we can't do it by wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money through a system that is clearly full of fraud, waste, and abuse, without having some sort of reforms in there," said Evans. 

"We have to always be willing to roll up our sleeves to provide the support necessary to identify that to make sure that it's going to the people that it needs to go to. But this is not how you solve this," said Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Democrat representing Colorado's 7th Congressional District.

Lawmakers are looking to the Senate to move ahead with a long-sought agreement to extend the credits, with some reforms. The Senate rejected a Democrat-led effort to pass a three-year extension of the enhanced tax credits last month.