A bipartisan drive to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies has gained notable traction in the House, with 16 Republicans now co-sponsoring the effort.
The legislation, authored by Jen Kiggans and Josh Gottheimer, seeks a one-year extension of the boosted premium tax credits first expanded during the COVID era.
Those subsidies are set to expire on December 31, and their impending end has triggered sharp divides within the House GOP conference — particularly among moderates who argue leadership has not provided a credible alternative for Americans facing steep premium increases.
In a closed-door conference meeting this week, centrist Republicans expressed frustration that the House GOP’s upcoming healthcare package fails to address the expiring tax credits.
House Speaker Mike Johnson faces the possibility that moderates could join Democrats in signing a discharge petition, a rarely used procedural move that would bypass leadership and force a floor vote on extending the subsidies.
The Kiggans-Gottheimer plan has 38 total co-sponsors, including the 16 Republicans who have openly broken with the party’s right flank to support the extension. These GOP lawmakers include: Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York; Rob Bresnahan, Ryan Mackenzie, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez of Florida; Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean of New Jersey; David Valadao and Kevin Kiley of California; Juan Ciscomani of Arizona; Jeff Hurd of Colorado; Don Bacon of Nebraska; and Monica De La Cruz of Texas.
Along with extending the tax credits, the bill introduces income caps and fraud-prevention measures. It also requires Congress to hold a vote by July 2026 on further reforms aimed at reducing insurance premiums.
A particularly unusual procedural component of the legislation establishes fast-track rules for future bills dealing with enhanced premium tax credits — provided that at least 10 lawmakers from each party sign on. Under this rule, relevant committees in both chambers would have five legislative days to advance such proposals before they are automatically discharged to the floor.
Meanwhile, House GOP leaders are preparing to unveil their own healthcare package next week that explicitly does not extend the tax credits.
Johnson argued that Democrats’ approach merely continues “COVID-era subsidies” and is “devoid of reforms to clamp down on rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.”
In the Senate, Republican committee chairs Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Crapo of Idaho are advancing a competing proposal that would let health coverage subsidies expire and redirect federal assistance into consumer-controlled health savings accounts.
The lawmakers claim their plan would cut premiums by 11% by 2027 through “cost-sharing reduction payments.”
President Donald Trump endorsed the concept, stating to reporters aboard Air Force One: “I don’t want to give the insurance companies any money.”
