U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to reporters during a news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Also pictured from left are Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain of Michigan, Majority Leader Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson committed Wednesday to voting next week on a legislative package that he said would lower health insurance premiums for hundreds of millions of Americans, not just those enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans.
But the Louisiana Republican’s pledge did not provide details about what bills would be included in the package or whether the bill would receive the GOP votes needed for passage, as its members had wildly different views on the federal government’s role in health care.
“You’re going to see a package coming out next week that actually lowers premiums for 100% of Americans with health insurance,” Johnson said.
That will be a arduous task for Johnson and other Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, who have a particularly narrow 220-213 majority. Democrats are unlikely to support GOP bills that do not extend expanded tax credits for people who buy health insurance through the ACA marketplace. Without the tax credit subsidies, costs are expected to rise sharply.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said shortly after a closed session of House Republican lawmakers on health care that leaders were still in the process of determining which bills would be included in the package.
“We showed today a list of what the three judicial committees have been working on for months. And then asked all members to give their feedback. And they did,” Scalise said. “A lot of members took the microphone today to say what we want. They gave their feedback. And frankly, a lot of it was very positive about these bills.”
The Senate will vote on Thursday
The House bills are part of a larger debate in Congress and the White House over the rising cost of living, including health care affordability, which came to the forefront in October and November after Democrats shut down the government.
Senate Democrats called during the six-week lockdown for a vote on extending the expanded ACA market tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised Democrats a vote on a health care law of their choice in return for votes to end the shutdown.
The Senate is expected to vote on it on Thursday a democratic bill This would extend the expanded ACA market tax credits for three years.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office Estimates This proposal would escalate the federal deficit by $83 billion over the next decade.
This three-year extension would escalate the number of people with health insurance by 400,000 in 2026, 3 million in 2027, 4 million in 2028, and 1.1 million in 2029 compared to current law.
Senators will also vote on Thursday to legislation from Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, both Republicans, that would provide up to $1,500 per year for people who purchase either bronze or catastrophic health insurance plans on the ACA marketplace.
The funds would go directly to a health savings account for people ages 18 to 64 who make up to 700% of the federal poverty level. That would be about $109,550 for one person or $225,050 for a family of four. The funding would run for the years 2026 and 2027, but would end thereafter.
Neither proposal is expected to receive the 60 votes needed to advance under the Senate’s legislative filibuster rule. Even if a bill passed the Senate, it would still have to be voted on in the House, a prospect that seemed like a long shot given that House GOP leaders are pushing a package of their own.
Abortion insurance
Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said after the conference session that “the devil is in the details” about exactly which bills will come to the floor, but added that Republican lawmakers have begun to form a “consensus.”
Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said he doesn’t believe Republican lawmakers are responsible for addressing any aspect of the Affordable Care Act, including the expiring tax credits.
“It is not our responsibility to fix Obamacare,” Harris said. “You broke it. You should fix it.”
Harris, chairman of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, said he would not support a bill to expand the expanded ACA market tax credits unless it limits access to abortion on those health plans only to cases of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant patient.
This issue has become a key negotiating point for many Republican lawmakers, even those willing to extend the tax credits for a while longer.
“Moment of Truth”
Democrats argue that adding these restrictions, often referred to as the Hyde Amendment, is unacceptable and would represent a up-to-date restriction on abortion access.
“I don’t understand why they want to clown around now and make abortion policy the focus when a number of Republicans in the House and Senate say they get it, doubling and tripling these premiums is a disaster,” said Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “You know this won’t work.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the only proposal on the table to extend the expanded ACA market tax credits, thereby avoiding a spike in premiums next year, is the Democrats’ bill.
“Tomorrow is a moment of truth for Republicans here in the Senate,” Schumer said. “Will they lower health care costs or will they sit idly by while premiums skyrocket for millions of Americans?”
Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.
