Senate Republican Whip John Thune confirmed that GOP leadership, along with relevant committee chairs, have been discussing how to reform premium Obamacare subsidies once the government reopens from a weekslong shutdown. This conversation was sparked by Democrats who want to make the subsidies permanent before they lapse at the end of the year.
However, Thune indicated that the discussion goes beyond the subsidies themselves, hinting at the possibility of a grand bargain that could trade the concession for Republican priorities in healthcare. While he declined to reveal specific policy details, GOP lawmakers have floated the idea of presenting a Republican vision on healthcare. The party views the issue as a vulnerability heading into next year, as they defend a razor-thin House majority alongside several vulnerable Senate seats.
Thune and his House counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), have kept the door open to extending subsidies but with stricter eligibility requirements, including income limits. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) has suggested additional measures, such as tax-free health savings accounts, which could be bundled with a subsidy deal.
For now, the subsidies have become a political flashpoint, with Democrats using them to blame Republicans for rising healthcare premium costs—the single biggest obstacle to reopening the government. However, Thune’s comments reflect an emerging GOP rebuttal to this critique. In an interview, he suggested that the enhanced subsidies have masked years of unsustainable premium increases, turning the Democratic argument on its head. Democrats claim Republicans are forcing insurance companies to raise costs by resisting a subsidy deal; Thune counters that Obamacare itself is inflationary.
“It’s a program that is designed to be inflationary, and we think that healthcare and healthcare insurance ought to be anti-inflationary, deflationary,” Thune said. “You ought to be looking for ways to make it more affordable, drive costs down, and everything about Obamacare drives it up.”
This messaging continues a longstanding Republican critique of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) since its enactment in 2010 and after the party failed to repeal it during President Donald Trump’s first term. The enhanced subsidies, introduced by Democrats under President Joe Biden, add a new complication. Thune noted that Democrats expanded access to these subsidies during the pandemic but failed to make the extension permanent while they held power.
“They created a cliff. It’s a program they created,” Thune said, referencing the Biden-era American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, which created and extended enhanced benefits through 2025. “There wasn’t a single Republican, living or dead, who voted for the original Obamacare. There isn’t a single Republican, living or dead, who voted for these enhanced subsidies. They’re expecting us to solve a problem they created.”
Publicly, Republicans have proposed various ideas to strike a middle ground, but the party has yet to unify behind a single solution. This is a challenging task, given that Speaker Johnson controls the House by only two votes. More centrist members, including Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), are open to extending the subsidies for another year without changes, while the conservative Freedom Caucus demands significant new limits and concessions.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a frequent critic of party leadership, has highlighted the division by calling the lack of a cohesive GOP position “unacceptable.” In response, Johnson assured reporters that Republicans are actively engaged on the matter.
“We have been working on this for a long time. We worked on it today. We’ve been working on it every day,” he said during an interview on CNN.
Thune, meanwhile, does not face the same level of public dissent within his Senate conference but continues to navigate constant pressure from Democrats. They believe focusing on healthcare in the shutdown fight could help prevent former President Donald Trump from securing a unified GOP Congress for the final two years of his potential second term.
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**Thune Teases Shutdown Votes to Pay Troops and Air Traffic Controllers**
Democrats argue that the expiring subsidies add to a “double whammy” consumers face following Trump’s tariffs. In a Thursday memo, House Democrats’ campaign arm cited internal polling from battleground districts showing 52% of respondents want healthcare and prescription drugs to be top congressional priorities to combat the rising cost of living.
Amid shutdown gridlock, Democrats seek a commitment that the Obamacare credits will be addressed. However, Thune has stated Republicans cannot make such a guarantee, given the delicate internal GOP politics.
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As negotiations continue, the future of premium subsidies—and broader healthcare reforms—remains a significant point of contention in the effort to reopen the federal government. Both parties appear to be weighing political and policy considerations carefully as they navigate a complex and high-stakes impasse.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3862037/john-thune-offense-democrats-healthcare-debate-alternative-obamacare-subsidies/
