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Senator, who has released his own long-term plan to reform the Affordable Care Act, says more urgent legislation is needed to prevent costs from spiking
John Bowdenin Washington, D.C.Wednesday 03 December 2025 18:45 GMTComments
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The top Republican on the Senate’s healthcare committee urged lawmakers to support a short-term fix for soon-to-expire Obamacare subsidies on Wednesday as his party faces a deadline to stop massive healthcare premium spikes from affecting millions of Americans.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) made the remarks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions as he sparred with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Democrats’ ranking member on the panel.
His stance is a public acknowledgement of the problem his party faces: Voters, having seen Democrats try and fail to secure an extension of the subsidies driving down healthcare costs for Affordable Care Act plan holders, will likely blame Republicans if monthly premiums spike by hundreds or thousands of dollars in January. The subsidies, passed as part of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, expire at the end of the calendar year.
Cassidy made clear that he didn’t believe the House and Senate could come to terms on a “big idea,” referring to any of several plans to reform the program and replace the subsidies, before the end of the year.
“If there is going to be a big idea, that will not happen before Jan. 1, 2026,” Cassidy said during the hearing.
open image in gallerySen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) indicated the need for Congress to implement an immediate fix for expiring Obamacare subsidies within three weeks on Wednesday (Getty Images)“Right,” Sanders responded.
“It is something we can focus on for 2027, or beyond. But I’m focused on 2026, because that’s where the immediate need is,” said Cassidy.
Sanders shot back that Republicans should support an extension of the Obamacare subsidies, as Democrats have repeatedly proposed, if that is the case. The two traded quips at eachother regarding the whether Americans would be under-insured.
After a back-and forth, Sanders said that Democrats would “not accept the doubling of [healthcare] premiums” as an acceptable outcome.
“Well, good!” Cassidy responded. “Maybe we can find some common ground. That’s the common ground.”
open image in galleryVermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats and is a supporter of Medicare-for-all, is urging Republicans to vote to extend Obamacare subsidies (Getty Images)Though Cassidy did not say it directly, one thing is clear from his call for immediate action: that he believes a short-term bill with Democratic support is in his party’s best interest.
There are just three weeks to get that done.
And the tight deadline for Republicans to address the problem is entirely self-imposed as GOP lawmakers control both chambers and resisted calls from Democrats to cut a deal throughout October and November. Cassidy and fellow Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida only released their respective framework proposals in November, 10 months into the president’s second term.
That deadline may force Republicans to accept a year-long (or more) extension of the Obamacare subsidies, averting an election-year rake in the grass while dividing their caucus on an issue where Democrats are united, if still disagreeing over strategy. Conservatives in the House especially are opposed to extending the subsidies, which amount to life support for the Affordable Care Act and a band-aid on the high cost of healthcare in America.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Independent after the hearing that he’d seen no proposal from Republicans offering a short-term solution to the cliff Obamacare plan subscribers face in January.
“I haven't seen a proposal thus far,” Wyden said. “I've only seen the [long-term] proposals [to replace the subsidies] thus far.”
open image in gallerySen. Ron Wyden dismissed the idea that Republicans were taking the imminent deadline posed by Obamacare plan premium hikes seriously (AP)A White House event ahead of Thanksgiving was called to announce the administration’s framework for dealing with the impending spike in premium costs for plans on the ACA public exchanges, through which some 22 million Americans purchase healthcare every year. But it was abruptly called off, with no official explanation.
Reports indicated that Speaker Mike Johnson informed the president’s team that a majority of his caucus opposed extending the subsidies by two years, which the White House was set to propose. Under that reported plan, which the White House still hasn’t released, new income limits would be imposed to curb the costs of those subsidies.
President Donald Trump has publicly denied that he supported a two-year extension, but told reporters on Air Force One that a short-term fix would likely be required in order to give Republicans time to address the issue through more substantial legislation.
“Some kind of extension may be necessary to get something else done,” Trump said.
open image in galleryDonald Trump has relentlessly attacked the Affordable Care Act in recent weeks, but indicated that he would support ‘some kind of extension’ of federal subsidies for health care plans on the ACA’s marketplaces (Getty Images)Cassidy was certain that Democrats would be blamed if they refused to come to the table. But even as the first week of December ticks by, the Republican short-term fix hasn’t been unveiled.
“The president is there. He wants to do it,” Cassidy had insisted to Politico in November. “You tell me who is at fault if something is not in place? Not Republicans. We have a deal and a plan. We are working hard to make sure something happens.”
Members of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group, are backing a plan that would see the Obamacare subsidies extended by two years.
But Johnson, in the lower chamber, is increasingly facing discontent within the broader GOP caucus. His ability to survive bringing a compromise to the floor of the House could rely on how forcefully the White House pushes conservatives back into line.
After a near-rebellion on the Jeffrey Epstein files vote and given the warning Johnson gave the president before Thanksgiving, that may not be possible.
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