Senate consideration of reconciliation bill with Marketplace, Medicare drug provisions begins Saturday

The Senate this weekend is expected to take up the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376), the latest version of the Build Back Better Act, a roughly $700 billion social spending package that includes health care, climate change and tax provisions. The legislation would extend for three years the American Rescue Plan Act’s expanded subsidies for coverage purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplaces; allow Medicare to negotiate prices for insulin and certain other drugs; implement tax changes and spending subsidies to address climate change; and reduce the deficit by roughly $300 billion, among other provisions. The package requires only a simple majority to pass in the Senate under budget reconciliation procedures. The House is expected to return from recess to consider the legislation once it passes the Senate.