Obamacare subsidy set to expire as Republicans block extension amid party split

An expanded federal healthcare subsidy created during the COVID-19 pandemic is now all but certain to expire at the end of the year, after Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives shut down a last-ditch effort to extend the programme despite a rare rebellion within their own party.

On Wednesday, four centrist Republicans broke ranks to back a Democratic push to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, often referred to as Obamacare, but fell just short of forcing a vote. By a narrow margin of 204 to 203, the House voted to halt the manoeuvre that would have triggered quick votes on a three-year extension.

The outcome means the enhanced subsidies are still scheduled to expire on December 31, potentially raising health insurance costs for millions of Americans as soon as January 1.

The vote itself was chaotic. Democrats accused Republican leadership of abruptly gavelling the vote closed while lawmakers were still attempting to cast ballots. At the time the vote ended, 26 members had not yet voted.

“That’s outrageous,” Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts shouted toward Republican leaders on the House floor.

Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said the move prevented some Democrats from voting at all.

“Listen, it’s playing games when people’s lives are at stake,” DeLauro said. “They jettisoned it.”

The subsidies help about 24 million Americans who buy health insurance through ACA marketplaces. Without congressional action, many could see sharp premium increases in the new year.

The failed vote is the latest flashpoint in a long-running congressional fight over the pandemic-era subsidies. It also underscores growing strains inside the Republican caucus under House Speaker Mike Johnson.

While Johnson typically controls which legislation reaches the floor, his authority has increasingly been challenged through “discharge petitions,” a procedural tool that allows a majority of House members to force a vote without leadership approval.

Democrats turned to that mechanism again on Wednesday, launching a new discharge petition aimed at forcing a vote on the ACA subsidies in the new year. They were joined by four Republicans: Mike Lawler of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan MacKenzie of Pennsylvania.