(WASHINGTON) — Ahead of Thursday’s vote on a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, Democrats are boasting that several Republicans are expected to defy their leadership team.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed pride in the “bipartisan coalition” created ahead of Thursday’s vote on a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies after nine Republicans crossed the aisle Wednesday night to set up passage in the House.
“I hope today there will be more Republicans joining this leader,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, gesturing towards Jeffries at a news conference Thursday.
Jeffries called the vote “an opportunity to take a meaningful step forward to lower the high cost of living for everyday Americans, particularly as it relates to health care, but it’s a battle that we will continue to wage on behalf of the American people.”
Wednesday’s procedural vote passed by a 221-205 margin. Nine Republicans — Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York, Rob Bresnahan, Ryan Mackenzie and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Maria Salazar of Florida, David Valadao of California, Thomas Kean of New Jersey, and Max Miller of Ohio — voted with Democrats to pass it.
The subsidies, which expired at the end of 2025, were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase the amount of financial assistance to those who were already eligible and to expand eligibility to more people.
A tangible path forward that sends legislation through Senate to the Resolute Desk to address the expired subsidies remains in question.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that there’s “no appetite” in the upper chamber for an extension and pointed instead to ongoing bipartisan talks between senators and House members.
“We’ve had that vote, as you know, already,” Thune said. “But we’ll see what happens from the working group, and if they can come up with something that has reforms. And we’ll go from there.
The Senate last month rejected a three-year extension of the subsidies when the measure fell short of the 60-vote threshold, though four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska — all crossed the aisle in support of the measure.
An estimated 22 million of the 24 million ACA marketplace enrollees are currently receiving enhanced premium tax credits to lower their monthly premiums, and many are seeing their premiums soar in 2026.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would increase the federal deficit by about $80.6 billion over the next decade.
If the measure is enacted, the number of people with health insurance would increase by 100,000 people in 2026, 3 million in 2027, 4 million in 2028 and 1.1 million in 2029, relative to current law, the CBO reported.
According to the CBO, the 4 million increase in 2028 would result from changes in several types of coverage: 6.2 million more people would be enrolled through ACA health insurance marketplaces; 400,000 million more people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program; 500,000 fewer people would purchase nongroup coverage outside the marketplaces; and 2.1 million fewer people would have employment-based coverage.
President Donald Trump has publicly expressed his opposition to extending the enhanced subsidies.
“I’d like not to be able to do it. I’d like to see us get right into this. I don’t know why we have to extend — this can be done rapidly if the Democrats would come along,” Trump said on Dec. 18 in the Oval Office.
After Speaker Mike Johnson resisted pressure to allow a vote on the subsidies late last year, a quartet of House Republicans — Fitzpatrick, Lawler, Bresnahan and Mackenzie — banded together before the holiday break and signed on to a Democratic discharge petition to force a vote on an ACA extension, much to the chagrin of GOP leaders.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
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