Lawmakers departed Capitol Hill for the Thanksgiving holiday without addressing rising health care costs or the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans afford insurance. —
When senators return in December, they're expected to vote on extending those subsidies during the first half of the month, but passage remains uncertain. In the House of Representatives, there's no guarantee a vote will happen at all, as even moderate Republicans are demanding changes to the law before supporting an extension.
"I wouldn't sign on just a clean extension. They're gonna have to, Hakeem Jeffries can't do my way to the highway on this thing. This thing got passed without a single Republican vote to begin with," Republican Rep. Don Bacon said.
As the subsidy expiration approaches alongside the 2026 midterm elections, some Republicans are raising concerns about their party's healthcare strategy. Republican Congressman Byron Donalds, who is running for governor of Florida with President Trump's endorsement, acknowledged the challenge.
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"I think Republicans need to have a health care strategy and not just say that Obamacare is broken, although it's very broken, and that's what's causing some of the affordability crisis hurting the American people, are Democrat policies like healthcare policies. So we have some room to work on that as well," Donalds said.
Recent polling suggests Democrats may benefit from the healthcare debate in upcoming elections. An NPR-PBS-Marist poll shows Democrats favored on the generic ballot by 14 points among registered voters, their strongest position in three years. Additionally, 57% of respondents said lowering prices should be the Trump administration's top priority.
Democrats received another boost when a federal court threw out new congressional maps in Texas, though the ruling is pending appeal to the US Supreme Court. Combined with Democratic moves in California to strengthen their margins and positive polling, the party could potentially regain control of the House of Representatives.
"I think what you're seeing is a massive blue wave building for this election. Americans are deeply concerned about the direction of the country, especially in the spiraling upward of prices for everyday items, electricity, food," Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.
Whether affordable healthvcare will be addressed when lawmakers return in December remains unclear as Republican lawmakers debate the best path forward to reduce costs.
