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wDo Republicans plan to prevent massive monthly premium cost increases for the millions of Americans who buy Obamacare health insurance plans in the public marketplaces? Vague, at best.
The White House has not rescheduled a program originally planned For the last week where the President expected to create an outline A major deadline for the administration and Republicans to address: the impending end of federal subsidies for health care plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, which were implemented as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Those subsidies expire at the end of the calendar year, and if not taken care of, monthly rates will increase by hundreds of dollars (or more) for millions of Americans. Most Americans who purchase plans on public exchanges receive some type of subsidy to offset the costs, including both annual premiums and individual deductibles.
Republicans in the Senate have released two dueling health care proposals under leadership senator rick scott And Bill Cassidy. In the House, the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus There is a third one. The White House, often the final voice in deciding how many people in both houses will ultimately support, has not yet drawn up a formal plan, while President Donald Trump, in comments to the press and on Truth Social, expressed support for making direct payments to Americans to offset health care costs.
In short, there is no single GOP plan. There are too many, and with only 30 days left before subsidies end and premium spikes begin, it appears the GOP has made little progress over the Thanksgiving holiday in coming together for a solution.
There are still some obstacles standing in the way of Republicans uniting around a plan. For one, any plan requires the approval of enough Democrats to pass the Senate: With a 53-vote majority, Republicans would need seven Democrats to cross party lines. His opponents favor increasing federal subsidies, but have indicated skepticism toward redirecting that money to individual health savings accounts if those funds cannot be used to pay annual premiums.
Then, of course, there’s the House GOP caucus, which has its own narrow margin to deal with and was reportedly responsible for pushing the president to cancel his health care framework announcement last week. Reports indicate that Speaker Mike Johnson informed Trump that the majority of his caucus was opposed to the expansion of Obamacare subsidies that the White House was going to propose.
On Air Force One, The President told reporters As reported, he did not support a two-year extension of the subsidy. But he admitted that “[s]”Some type of extension may be necessary to do anything else,” Congress and the White House have been given a short deadline to act.
Senate Republicans, including Cassidy, who spoke politicoIn late November he was optimistic that his party would rally around a plan that could satisfy both caucuses.
Cassidy argued that the resulting pressure to find a solution would force Democrats to get involved.
“The president is there. He wants to do it,” Cassidy told the outlet. “You tell me whose fault it is if something isn’t in place? Not the Republicans. We have a deal and a plan. We’re working hard to make sure something happens.”
It remains to be seen whether he will be successful in making the Democrats win in the Senate or not. But Democratic unity broke down again in November when a group in the Senate, which many progressives argued were acting at the behest of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, cut a deal to end the longest shutdown in US history with a promise to vote on increasing Obamacare subsidies in December.
If no direct extension of subsidies appears to be on the table the party may see defection again. At present it does not seem so.
Both Scott and Cassidy have released plans that would redirect the soon-to-expire subsidies to HSAs, accounts that can be used to pay premiums and other out-of-pocket costs under Scott’s plan. Cassidy would allow those payments to be used for all health care costs except premiums. Critics on the left argue that both plans undermine the core concept of the Affordable Care Act: protection for sick Americans and those with pre-existing health conditions, who they argue will face higher costs if insurance companies are allowed to place them in higher-risk pools or lock them out of the market due to rising costs from a shaky health care economy.
If Republicans can’t get Democrats on board, next year’s results could be devastating for both Americans and incumbent lawmakers’ electoral prospects. Even some conservatives who say subsidies should end are calling for the payments to be phased out over time rather than stopping immediately.
An analysis by KFF found that Americans who receive health care subsidies, on average, Their premiums will more than double If the payment ends in January.
“The expiration of the enhanced premium tax credit is projected to more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay annually for premiums—a 114 percent increase from an average of $888 to $1,904 in 2025,” KFF reports. KFF said the average annual premium rate remained stable in 2024 and 2025 due to the IRA subsidy, a relief for U.S. consumers who are still grappling with the effects of inflation and persistently high prices in other sectors of the economy.
For frontline Republicans, the impact could manifest at the ballot box in November. Affordability was seen as a driving issue behind Democratic sweeps in statewide races last month, with both far-left and more conservative candidates.
While most likely voters Unaffected by the Democrats’ stance on this issue During the shutdown, any shock to the Obamacare exchanges would be immediately felt by millions. As polls show Trump’s approval ratings on economic issues are at their lowest in years, the GOP is currently on track to make its biggest election issue even worse at the worst time.