Congress races against the clock to avert skyrocketing health care costs for millions

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Dec 14, 2025, 5:54 PM ET


Lawmakers are scrambling to address skyrocketing health care costs in the final days before Congress leaves Washington for the holidays, with enhanced tax credits that make insurance premiums more affordable for millions of Americans set to expire at the end of the month.

After the Senate failed to advance health care plans spearheaded by each party last week, it’s the House’s turn to take up proposals with similarly uncertain outcomes.

Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to hold a vote on a Republican-led bill released last week, which includes provisions to lower premiums for certain Affordable Care Act enrollees through a cost-sharing reduction program. The plan would not extend the Covid-era subsidies due to lapse at the end of this month.

GOP leaders are also expected to allow an amendment to extend the ACA credits to come to the floor, as swing-state Republicans like Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania seek to force a vote on the issue. The legislative path to passing a short-term extension of the expiring subsidies before both chambers depart on Friday until early January seems all but impossible.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/14/politics/health-care-congress-bills-aca-subsidies

[UpInArms]

1. Races against the clock?

Bullshit

They knew this was coming for months … they sat on the hands at the direction of TFG and project 2025 …

They have voted 75 times to kill the ACA

[SSJVegeta]

26. Lol @ the press pretending congress cares

[Irish_Dem]

28. They could not care less.

The well being of the American people mean nothing to them.

[progree]

2. In most states, today, Dec 15 is the deadline to pick a plan and have coverage beginning January 1

That's the default. Some states have extended deadlines.

I'm extremely very surprised and alarmed and appalled that the CNN article didn't mention that.

One can pick a plan by January 15 for coverage beginning February 1.

After that, one needs to qualify for a Special Enrollment Period due to a major life event like losing other coverage

Always check Healthcare.gov or your state's marketplace

[Alice B.]

3. Exactly. I checked for myself last night. Nearly $700/month for a lousy Bronze plan.

I’ve read some people are signing up with the hope of a Hail Mary. That’s great if you can make the first premium payment that is expected at the outset. You know, right before Christmas.

[ybbor]

4. Same here

Went from a decent silver plan, that doubled in price, to a lesser bronze package. We paid less for BCBS prior to the ACA, than we are paying for now. Our country is trash. I’m am so sorry for my high school senior. She doesn’t deserve to be left this mess. At least my MAGA family members will offer thoughts and prayers.

[Alice B.]

9. Your kid deserves better than this.

I can’t even imagine what parents are going through right now. Have been going through on this roller coaster.

Two years ago, I was paying for a non-market place plan that was the equivalent of bronze coverages and it was about $450/month.

This country is indeed broken 😣

[wolfie001]

7. Yes, republiCONs made sure the ACA was a shitty plan

But zero plan would be even worse. Funny how the repukes preach about how great this country is. We're not even in the top 50 anymore especially with the fat orange imbecile in the WH.

[Alice B.]

10. Whatever they're on must be a helluva hallucinogen.

[littlemissmartypants]

14. High on their own supply because they certainly aren't thinking about anyone else.

It reeks of arrogance and hubris is just a few steps away from FOFA.

There's a tipping point for every single thing.

These Republican "geniuses" have overwhelmingly lost any sense of reality and are heading for a fall.

I can hardly wait to help dig the grave for their obsolescence.

[Alice B.]

15. That prospect is one of the few things that keeps me going.

[NCDem47]

5. Exactly!

I've already paid my premium for January. You're telling me Blue Cross is going to go in and adjust the price now? TOO LATE CONGRESS.

I moved to a 2026 plan with a deductable and higher out-of-pocket maximum to avert a 40% increase from my 2025 plan to the exact same one in 2026.

[Timeflyer]

6. NOW they care? Vote them all out.

[wolfie001]

8. Can the stupid as f68k voters figure this out? That's the $60 million dollar question

[S/V Loner]

11. Oh the GOP dilemma...

How to increase the profits of health insurance companies and pharmaceuticals and still get elected so the can proceed with their Fascist agenda. They certainly are experiencing a conundrum.

[travelingthrulife]

12. Do they, CNN? They are working so hard to give us affordable healthcare!

Like saying Costco should provide it. It will come with that job you no longer have too.

[maliaSmith]

13. They broke it and now we must vote them all out.

GOP totally own this insanity. We must vote them all out in Senate and House.

[Crowman2009]

16. For the vast majority of Democratic congress people, they care about people.

For all the GOPer congress critters, all they care about is keeping their jobs.

[Bobstandard]

17. How will Democrats fold this time?

.Is it too cynical of me to suspect that enough Democrats will join with Republicans to approve a bad healthcare bill? They’ll say that they couldn’t let their constituents suffer from Republicans raising their ACA premiums. That it’s too important to “play politics” with the issue, even though the ultimate outcome is worse. Will our Representatives again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

[TBF]

21. Just to clue you in, democrats are not

in control of Congress - either house - or the presidency - or the Supreme Court. The republicans rule all right now & they are the ones who are responsible for this mess.

[Bobstandard]

23. Putting your insults aside, remember how the shutdown ended? nt

[NickB79]

27. How did you expect it to end, exactly?

Did you think the Republicans would cave? That wasn't going to happen. There was zero chance the GOP would extend the subsidies. It ended in the only way it could: the Republicans owning the inevitable health insurance crisis for the world to see.

[popsdenver]

18. Hey FOLKS

The pain is just beginning.............Just wait to see all that is coming.............I seem to think that we all ain't seen nothing yet....

[lostincalifornia]

19. F**KING idiots. Just extend the subsidies until the rethugs can pull their ccollective heads out of their collective

asses, and actually try to come up with something viable, which is not likely, seeing they have had over a decade to do so, and have produced ZILCH.

[pcdb]

25. No-so-affordable Care Act? We should be pushing Medicare for all

The ACA made health insurance unaffordable without subsidies for most Americans. It's been a disaster; we should be pushing Medicare for all rather than propping up a bloated system that enriches big insurance companies at the cost of everyone else.

[LiberalLovinLug]

31. Establishment Democrats are loathe to the idea. Yet MFA would be a winner as an election platform.

I don't know if they just can't walk away from all their donor ties to the industry elites or what. I can't think of another reason. We desperately need this old guard to step down and let the newer bolder generation take over.

https://truthout.org/articles/aca-and-medicare-for-all-polls-reveal-voters-back-publicly-funded-health-care/
December 4, 2025

According to a Data for Progress poll published late last month, 63 percent of Americans say they support Medicare for All, even with the question including the caveat that it would “eliminate most private insurance plans and replace premiums with higher taxes.” Only 29 percent said they disliked the idea.

Remarkably, even a plurality of Republican respondents — a voting bloc that is normally opposed to large government spending programs — said they liked the concept of Medicare for All, with 47 percent voicing support, according to the poll.

[sakabatou]

20. Oh bullshit! They already had plenty of time, and NOW they're racing?!

It's almost as if they wanted to let the subsidies run out, and make the costs sky high while pocketing money from donors!

[FormerOstrich]

22. During the shutdown

I was asking questions about the impact and timing in relationship to the on-going open enrollment. Mainly because even then it seemed too lat.

They had announced months ago that Aetna was no longer going to offer individual plans in 2026 and I had to select an alternative. They rolled me into a similar plan but the premium was increasing almost 4x my current. As such, I have selected a plan of comparable price which I am a bit apprehensive of but I have paid the January premium already.

How does anything they do now negate the decisions and payments people have been forced into thinking the window was closing. Had they passed the extension would the premiums all change at a blink of an eye? Could we undo what we have done? I'm thinking not.

Pfffttt....too many don't have a clue of what we struggle with day to day.

[suegeo]

24. COBRA payments during G.W. Dumbass economy crisis

in 2008 Republican economic crash, the Democrats (Obama?) paid for some of the COBRA costs for laid off employees.

I remember because I was one of them. COBRA sucked, Obamacare helped, now we're back to GOP suckage again.

[Bayard]

29. I don't see how tax credits are supposed to help,

If you don't make enough to even pay taxes, like me with SS only. If that's all rethugs can come up with, its not going to help a lot of people. I'm worried about how much my Medicare premium will go up.

[gohuskies]

30. The MAGA congress critters who sat out of session to deny Ms. Grijalva her seat are to blame for this mess

Trump's collaborators led my mike johnson are to blame for this self inflicted wound and thrusting financial insecurity for affordable heathcare need to be held accountable for bankrupting families when ACA subsidies cease or are replaced by placating health insurance vultures.