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 – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives released a health care bill Friday evening that they hope will assist curb rising costs, although the measure does not receive the necessary support from Democrats to get through the Senate.
The 111-page bill is expected to move to the House of Representatives next week, where Speaker Mike Johnson will need the vote of nearly all of his members to pass the legislation – an uphill battle given the very different views of the center and far-right members of the party on health issues.
The Louisiana Republican said in a statement that the bill offers “clear, responsible alternatives that reduce the cost of premiums and improve access and health care options for all Americans.”
Democrats are pushing for a three-year extension of expanded tax credits for people who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.
So far, Republican leadership in the House and Senate have not agreed to expand these subsidies, arguing they have led to pointed increases in health insurance costs.
Instead, Republican lawmakers pursued their own legislation, but without at least some support from Democrats, no bill will clear the Senate’s procedural hurdles of 60 votes.
Republicans in the Senate tried to move forward Earlier this week, a bill was introduced by Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, but it failed to receive the necessary votes.
Democrats’ attempt to push through their bill to extend the ACA market tax credits for three years also failed.
The House Republican bill, introduced by Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, is unlikely to resolve the logjam in Congress over rising health insurance and health care costs and may make the issue one for the parties to debate ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Target “real drivers” of cost increases
Johnson blamed Democrats in his explanation for passing the Affordable Care Act during President Barack Obama’s first term, saying the law did not reduce health care costs.
House Republicans’ up-to-date legislation, Johnson said, will “address the true drivers of health care costs, provide affordable care, improve access and choice, and restore the integrity of our nation’s health care system for all Americans.”
The bill would require pharmacy benefit managers to “provide employers with detailed data on prescription drug spending, rebates, price ranges and formulary decisions – giving plans and employees the transparency they deserve,” according to a summary in Johnson’s press release.
Starting in 2027, the legislature provides funds for cost-sharing reduction payments, which, according to the summary, would reduce health insurance premiums and stabilize the individual market.
The House Rules Committee is supposed to prepare the bill for the plenary debate on Tuesday and check whether any amendments can be considered in the plenary.
The full House of Representatives will then debate the legislation later in the week before heading into a two-week holiday recess.
Trump wants direct payments
President Donald Trump reiterated his preference for the federal government to send payments directly to Americans in a speech in the Oval Office shortly after the bill was released.
“We want to give the money to people and give them the opportunity to buy their own great health care and they’re going to save a lot of money and it’s going to be great,” he said.
But Trump also appeared to signal that he will stay out of the negotiations in Congress, saying, “I’ll leave it to them and hope they put great legislation on the table here.”
