Christopher Jacobs writes for the Federalist about multiple factors supporting the end of Obamacare health insurance subsidies.
Congress returns to Washington this week, and with apologies to Yogi Berra, it’s déjà vu all over again. After spending much of the latter months of 2025 debating Democrat proposals to extend enhanced Covid-era Obamacare subsidies, the Republican-controlled Congress will spend the opening weeks of 2026 … debating Democrat proposals to extend enhanced Covid-era Obamacare subsidies.
If this makes little sense to you, you’re not alone. But the House of Representatives faces an inevitable vote on an enhanced subsidy extension because, right before Christmas, four renegade Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan, and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York — signed a discharge petition effectively granting control of the House floor to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and the rest of the Democrats. …
… Due to the procedural machinations associated with the discharge petition maneuver, it remains unclear exactly what piece of legislation the House will vote on. But, assuming the bill in question echoes the three-year enhanced subsidy extension that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., put forward for a vote in that body last month, representatives will have at least 10 reasons not to vote for this particular proposal:
1. No Effect on Gross Premiums in 2026: In its cost estimate, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) admitted that the bill would have no effect on gross premiums for the current plan year “because those premiums have already been set.”
2. Expands and Entrenches Obamacare: The bill would, for the second time, extend Covid-era enhanced subsidies that were designed to be temporary, amounting to a major entitlement expansion on the installment plan.
3. Continues and Perpetuates Fraud: The bill contains no reforms to address the fraud that CBO, the Government Accountability Office, and other independent estimates have said plagues insurance Exchanges.
