WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of representatives has initiated a parliamentary move to force the House to vote on an extension of the expiring enhanced subsidies for Obamacare, combined with provisions to combat fraud and abuse.

The procedure, known as a discharge petition, was filed by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who authored a bill aimed at ending the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over the expiring subsidies.

The petition requires the signature of 218 House members.

The Fitzpatrick plan would extend the enhanced premium tax credits through 2027 to insulate consumers from sudden rate increases. It includes some measures to check fraud by unscrupulous insurance brokers and rein in some practices of pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in the prescription drug supply chain.

The measure has the support of a number of moderate House members, including Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Robert Bresnahan (R-Pa.).

Fitzpatrick told reporters on Dec. 10 that he had spoken to rank-and-file members of both parties about the plan, and that he believes most in the House would back it.

“This is not a partisan exercise. It is not a messaging bill. This is entirely the result of bipartisan compromise and work,” Lawler said.

The subsidies have taken on a sense of urgency as the Jan. 1 premium increases draw nearer. “This is personal to a lot of us because these are our friends and our neighbors that are losing sleep over this,” Fitzpatrick said.

“If [people] lose their insurance, that'll make the pool smaller. Everybody’s insurance will go up,” Suozzi said.

The enhanced subsidies are a COVID-19 era provision to cope with the economic fallout of the national health emergency. They were intended to last two years but were extended for three additional years, ending this month.

Senate Democrats have proposed a three-year clean extension of the subsidies, saying that the impact of the expiration would cause millions to lose their health coverage.

Senate Republicans largely oppose the subsidies, saying they have contributed to health care inflation and become an occasion for widespread fraud and abuse. They are backing a plan authored by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that would replace the enhanced subsidies with a cash payment to eligible enrollees, placed in a health savings account.

Both plans are likely to fail in the Senate along partisan lines.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) applauded Fitzpatrick’s effort, saying it seemed similar to a three-year ramp-down of the subsidies that he suggested.

To pass the Senate, Tillis said, any measure would need roughly equal support from both parties, because hardliners on both sides would be likely to reject a compromise measure.