WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The issue at the very heart of the longest government shutdown in history and the main focus of lawmakers for the past few weeks still doesn’t have a solution.
Affordable Care Act tax credits will expire on December 31st, with two House-proposed, last-ditch efforts to save premiums from skyrocketing facing an uncertain future when lawmakers return in the new year.
The question at the heart of both: what to do about the expiring enhanced ACA tax credits millions rely on and the lasting damage to premiums should they disappear.
House Republicans saw their proposal passed out of the chamber Wednesday night, promising to “lower premiums for all”. But, the bill doesn’t actually address the subsidies; instead promising to offset the spike with other measures focused on affordability.
That will head to the Senate in January, where it will need bipartisan support to move forward.
Across the aisle, Democrats had their own plan: a forced vote on extending the tax credits by 3 years. 4 moderate Republicans also threw their support behind the move, adding the final signatures needed to send a discharge petition to the Speaker’s desk.
“We successfully secured a vote with a successful discharge petition to protect the health care of the American people and extend the Affordable Care Act credit,” announced House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Thursday morning.
But on the final day of voting for 2026, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson hadn’t brought the measure to the floor, leaving it up in the air over the holidays.
Some moderate lawmakers caught in the middle voiced their frustration with both proposals, hoping a solution could have been reached before the new year to prevent premiums from spiking.
“That particular bill,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), addressing the discharge petition, “has already been rejected by the Senate, which is why I say it’s not just been a failure on the part of the Speaker, but also the Minority Leader.”
As the Capitol emptied out, there was a glimmer of hope President Donald Trump would step in before the end of the year. But Thursday, he instead suggesting a third solution: sending money directly to the American people through health care accounts and letting the subsidies expire.
“I don’t know why we have to extend,” Trump said when asked if he would step in Thursday. “This could be done rapidly if the Democrats would come along, we have a problem.”
Three ideas, one certainty: ACA tax credits will expire, premiums will go up, and Congress has no set solution heading into 2026.
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