WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that Democrats will force a vote next week on a bill to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits and prevent health insurance premiums from skyrocketing for millions of Americans.
Schumer said it will be a “clean” three-year extension of the enhanced ACA funding first passed in 2021, designed to cap premiums for an average marketplace plan at 8.5% of income, and said “all Democrats will support it.”
Schumer’s legislation is almost certain to fail, as many Republican senators want the ACA funds to expire, arguing that the Covid-era subsidies were intended to be temporary and are no longer needed.
“Republicans have a week to decide where they stand: vote for this bill and reduce health care costs, or block this bill and skyrocket premiums,” Schumer said on the floor. “That’s what’s at stake when we vote next week. It will be one of the most important votes we take.”
The vote follows a promise Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made to Democrats in discussions to end the record-long government shutdown last month. Thune reiterated Tuesday that the Senate will vote next week on any bill Democrats propose, but it will require 60 votes to pass, meaning at least 13 Republicans would have to support it.
Some Republicans say they are open to expanding ACA funding with modifications and stricter limits, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement. And Republican demands for tighter abortion restrictions tied to ACA funding have been dismissed by Democrats as a failure.
Still, the issue has deep political ramifications, and costs are expected to skyrocket for millions of Americans in the ACA markets. Democrats see it as a powerful weapon to use in their campaigns for the 2026 elections if a solution is not reached.
Schumer anticipated his party’s message on the floor and called his bill the “only way” to prevent insurance costs from increasing significantly next month.
“People at home will be watching what the Republicans do, and the American people are running out of time before January 1,” he said. “Make no mistake, our bill is the last chance Republicans will have before January 1 to prevent premiums from skyrocketing.”
Thune did not mention health care during his speech Thursday, but told reporters two days earlier, after a Republican Party meeting, that it is still a work in progress. Republicans have proposed a variety of ideas to expand, redirect or end ACA funding, but lack internal consensus on the path forward.
“Talks are continuing,” Thune told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t think, at this point, we have a clear path forward.”
Brennan Leach and Gabrielle Khoriaty contributed.
