WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to revive expired Obamacare funds for three years, after a group of Republicans rebelled against their party leaders and teamed up with Democrats to force the vote.
The vote was 230-196, with 17 Republicans joining a unanimous Democratic caucus to pass the legislation. Most of the breakaway GOP lawmakers represent swing districts and are wary of health care becoming a political vulnerability in the 2026 midterms.
The bill would resurrect Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for about 22 million Americans after Republicans rejected bills last year to extend the money past the Dec. 31 deadline. Insurance premiums are estimated to double, on average, for those enrollees this year unless the funding is restored.
The legislation is projected to cost $80 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, while insuring 4 million more people and lowering premiums for others.
It now goes to the Senate, where Republican leaders have pronounced it dead on arrival.
While many GOP senators have no interest in resurrecting the ACA funds, some say they’re open to a scaled-back version. A bipartisan Senate group is working toward a solution separate from the House bill, but they don’t yet have an agreement that stands a chance of becoming law.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is pushing for a measure that would extend the ACA funds for two years with a series of changes, including limiting eligibility to 700% of the poverty level and a minimum premium of $5 per month even for the lowest earners.
He said he wants to create an option for enrollees to redirect the enhanced tax credits to a health savings account, or HSA, from the second year onward. That is one challenge that may not get Democratic support. And he said he’s still trying to figure out a way to impose abortion restrictions that many Republicans insist on, which has been the biggest sticking point for months.
“We’re in the red zone,” Moreno said. “But that does not mean a touchdown. It could mean a 95-yard fumble.”
The Senate group briefed House members on their tentative plan during a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus meeting Thursday. Senators were closely watching the House vote as a potential driving force, a person in the room said. Their goal is to release a compromise bill next week before the Senate goes on recess the week of Jan. 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Other senators in both parties are less bullish.
“I don’t see us getting to 60 votes on anything,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., instead calling for Republicans to pursue a party-line health care bill through the filibuster-proof budget process.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who has led the negotiations for Democrats, said “there is continued work this week,” but she’s unsure when they will reach a deal.
Shaheen also rejected the GOP demands for stricter abortion restrictions.
“There is no need to come to a compromise because it’s already been dealt with in the Affordable Care Act,” she said. “There is very specific language on how it is dealt with.”
Some House Republicans agree: Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., said some senators seem inclined to skip stricter abortion language, arguing President Donald Trump’s comments earlier this week to be “flexible” on the issue seemed to resonate with both parties.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that in addition to abortion, any compromise must include a “bridge” to HSAs, where funds flow “directly” to consumers, and prohibit auto-enrollment by insurance companies from year to year. He also signaled he wants most Republican senators on board with any proposal to provide “a healthy majority.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., standing alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters that an ACA funding extension is the “No. 1 thing to reduce costs immediately” in the U.S.
