White House announcement on healthcare called off, as GOP rejects ACA subsidies
President Donald Trump was expected to imminently announce a plan to address healthcare pricing, said in multiple reports to include a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. That plan is now on hold, as Republicans in Congress appear to oppose any such policy.
According to MS NOW, one Republican lawmaker said they oppose any extension of the subsidies, which lower the cost of health insurance sold through government exchanges. The source, who remained anonymous, said the feeling was prevalent among their colleagues.
“I don’t see how a proposal like this has any chance of getting majority Republican support. We need to be focused on healthcare, but extending Obamacare isn’t even serious,” the person is quoted as saying.
The same Republican expressed surprise over the announcement, especially since Trump said he opposed any direct government spending that would benefit insurance companies, floating instead that Americans be sent direct checks to buy medical coverage for themselves.
“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the hundreds of billions of dollars currently being sent to money-sucking insurance companies—in order to save the bad healthcare provided by ObamaCare—be sent directly to the people, so that they can purchase their own much better healthcare, and have money left over,” he wrote in a Nov. 8 social media post.
Shortly after, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) expressed support for the proposal—which is crucial, because the latest congressional spending bill did not include any extension of ACA subsidies. Any future healthcare-related spending would require an act of Congress.
Notably, the issue of extending the ACA subsidies—which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic—led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, with Republicans and Democrats in deadlock over the issue. Given the GOP’s victory, it comes as a surprise that the White House’s plan would have effectively given the opposition party most of what it wanted.
In terms of the specifics, Politico reported that there would be new minimums added to premiums—meaning every American would pay more out of pocket. Further, the scaling tax credits that make insurance more affordable would be capped at 700% of the federal poverty line.
But for now at least, it seems all of that is on hold. Despite premiums rising dramatically—in some regions more than 50% since last year—there is no policy proposal on the table to mitigate the rising cost of health coverage heading into 2026.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.