On Thursday, Rep. Mike Lawler said he supported a bipartisan effort with Democrats to compel a House vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the month, arguing that allowing the subsidies to lapse without reforms would drive up costs for millions of Americans.
Speaking live from Capitol Hill, the New York Republican stated that the ACA has “failed to address the issue of healthcare affordability,” noting premiums have risen “96% nationwide” since the law took effect.
Lawler explained that the COVID-era enhanced subsidies currently have the federal government covering about “88% of the premiums,” and that expiration would drop this coverage to roughly “78%” for many enrollees, leaving what he called an unaffordable system as premiums continue to rise.
The representative described his vote as part of a “dual track” approach: temporarily extending the enhanced credits while enacting conservative-oriented reforms. These reforms include income limits so high earners are not subsidized, ending “zero premium plans,” and cracking down on insurers he claimed have increased profits “by about 2,000%.”
Lawler said that along with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., he had pushed a bipartisan reform package but could not secure agreement from GOP leadership to bring it to the floor.
“We all want to fix this broken system that, by the way, Democrats created,” he added. “They’re saying that this is a Republican affordability crisis. They’re the ones who passed into law Obamacare.”
With talks stalled, Lawler stated that four Republicans signed a discharge petition “for the purpose of forcing a vote” and sending the issue to the Senate, where he expects lawmakers to return a reform package.
Lawler rejected the idea that his move was a rebellion against Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., instead framing it as an effort to prevent a premium “spike” for an estimated “22 million” people. He insisted, “You can’t just turn off the spigot without a plan to replace it and fix it.”
