Millions of Americans will experience significant price increases after the end of the year if bipartisan agreement to contain costs remains absent.
President Trump’s Obamacare subsidy plan on hold due to Republican opposition
President Donald Trump’s Obamacare subsidy plan has been delayed after Republican opposition.
WASHINGTON – Millions of Americans are bracing for higher health care costs next year, but President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress remain at an impasse on what to do about it.
Time is running out.
The White House and lawmakers are weeks away from expiring federal aid, which could leave about 5 million Americans without health insurance, according to some estimates. The subsidies, provided in the form of tax credits, are part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Just before Thanksgiving, the Trump administration is preparing to intervene, potentially resolving the crux of the issue before the holidays. Multiple news outlets reported that President Trump had planned to propose a two-year extension of the subsidies, but the president forced a suspension after opposition from Republicans in Congress.
President Trump said at a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting that “something will happen” to address the issue, but also suggested that “it probably won’t be easy.”
Agreement or intermediate message?
Partisan politics is one of the major challenges in resolving conflicts. As the deadline for subsidies approaches by the end of the year, Democrats have vowed to make them, and broader health care, the cornerstone of their 2026 mid-term messaging strategy.
They hope to use public attention to rising health care costs during the recent government shutdown as a springboard to regain control of Congress next November.
“We’re going to get this done,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who ran for president in 2020. “We’re going to get it done by putting it in some kind of bill, or we’re going to get it done by going to the midterm elections and winning.”
The Senate is expected to vote on a bill to address the issue next week, but it is unclear what specific legislation it will consider. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Dec. 2 that whatever measures are taken, the focus will be on cutting costs.
Either way, given the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for overcoming a filibuster, there is a serious challenge for the bill to garner enough support to pass. Also standing in the way of any potential compromise in the Senate is the Republican-controlled House.
Although there is a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushing for an extension of health care subsidies, many House Republicans have big problems with Obamacare in general and would not support any plan that survives in the Senate.
Without a last-minute breakthrough, some lawmakers are already warning that the next Senate vote could turn into a mere partisan exercise.
“Unfortunately, that’s a real risk,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). Tillis, who is retiring next year, is among a group of Republicans who have expressed support for extending the premium tax credit, at least in the short term, until Congress finds a larger solution to Obamacare’s problems.
“I honestly believe that if we don’t have a conclusion by Christmas, it’s not going to happen,” he said.
Senate Republicans met Dec. 2 to discuss changes to health care policy, including a new plan from Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy. The bill, authored by Cassidy, who is also a physician, would replace expiring subsidies with funds that would be deposited directly into Americans’ health savings accounts (HSAs).
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said afterward that lawmakers had not finished their talks with an agreement.
“I don’t think there’s a clear path forward at this point,” he told reporters.
Shutdown promises can fail
The impending vote on the Senate health care bill stems from a key promise Republicans made to Democrats in November in exchange for their support to end the longest government shutdown in history.
During the funding crisis, the biggest issues centered on expiring tax credits. There have been concerns on both sides for months about how to extend the corridor, but as the closure drags on, lawmakers have been unable to find a solution. Republicans had called for further restrictions on subsidies. The Democratic Party mainly pushed for an extension without new provisions.
Bipartisan talks continued for several weeks. After more than a month, a group of Senate Democrats finally agreed to end the shutdown. In return, Republicans guaranteed a vote on health care by mid-December. Progressives accused their colleagues of caving without making any concrete concessions.
One of the architects of the closure agreement was New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Asked a week before a major health care vote if lawmakers were close to reaching a bipartisan compromise, she said, “I don’t think so.”
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..
