“We tried to find a way to make the pressure relief valve available, but we couldn’t do it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said days before lawmakers headed home for the holidays.
Medical insurance premiums will rise due to collapse of ACA subsidy agreement
Obamacare subsidies will expire after Congress fails to reach an agreement, leaving millions of people facing increased health care costs.
WASHINGTON – Millions of Americans are about to see health insurance premiums rise as Congress runs out of time to extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Speaker Mike Johnson said on Dec. 16 that reality became clear after a last-minute effort among House Republicans who had hoped to trigger a vote on the tax credit failed. About a dozen moderate Republicans took up the issue last weekend as Congress prepared to leave for vacation, but Johnson told reporters that no agreement had been reached.
“Many of them wanted to vote for this Obamacare, this coronavirus-era subsidy that the Democrats created,” Johnson said on Capitol Hill. “We tried to find a way to make the pressure relief valve work, but we couldn’t do it.”
The approval of top Congressional leaders effectively guaranteed the imminent conclusion of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which affect approximately 22 million Americans. According to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group, the average enrollee who receives tax credits in the Obamacare marketplaces will see their premiums double when they run out of premiums at the end of the year.
Johnson cited a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, that identified persistent fraud risks in the program, among other reasons for Republican opposition to the loan extension, including broader restraints on federal spending.
On December 11, a bill that would have continued the coronavirus-era subsidies for three years failed to pass in the Senate. All Democrats and four Republican senators voted in support, but the bill fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the House.
The House is scheduled to vote on another Republican-backed bill this week aimed at more general health care reform. The bill would allow businesses to group together and buy health insurance. It also promises to provide funding in 2027 to reduce out-of-pocket costs.
“We hope the Democrats will work with us,” Johnson said of a vote on the new bill (which is unlikely to ultimately pass Congress without addressing the Obamacare subsidy issue).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized the Speaker after learning that House members would not vote on Obamacare.
“Mr. Johnson said, ‘That shouldn’t happen,'” Schumer said. “Well, tell that to American families who have to pay an extra $500 to $1,000 a month in medical bills.”
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
