House to consider extension for expired ACA subsidies

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he plans to bring a bill on extending the Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits to the House floor this week.

The enhanced ACA subsidies expired Dec. 31, 2025, amid disagreement in Congress over whether to extend them.

Congressional Republicans are divided over extending the subsidies. But in December, four GOP representatives joined Democrats in backing a discharge petition on legislation to extend the subsidies for three years.

In December, Johnson said he would bring the discharge petition to the House floor when Congress returned from its holiday recess.

It is expected to pass the House and head to the Senate, where it will likely undergo some bipartisan changes to get the necessary 60 votes to advance.

Lawmakers have their backs against the wall in passing health care legislation. The next government funding deadline is Jan. 31. If the issue of extending enhanced subsidies isn’t resolved by then, Democrats could potentially use the funding deal as leverage to press for the extension. The extension of enhanced subsidies contributed to Democrats refusing to support a GOP spending package in October, leading to a 43-day government shutdown that was the longest in U.S. history.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 extended the enhanced ACA subsidies — originally created under the 2021 American Rescue Plan — through the end of 2025. These subsidies were designed to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans purchasing coverage on the ACA marketplaces.

The expiration of the enhanced subsidies means that ACA marketplace premiums more than double for those who depend on them to afford coverage. One in three enrollees (32%) told a KFF survey they are very likely to shop for a lower-premium plan (with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs) and one in four (25%) say they would be very likely to go uninsured.

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