PHOENIX — The Republican-led House and Senate both adjourned on Thursday, December 18, and will not return until January. This means that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies will expire at the end of the month, affecting the insurance premiums of 22 million Americans.
Republican and Democratic members of both chambers are discussed a wide range of proposals, some of which circumvented party leadership entirely.
The ACA subsidies in question were created during COVID to fund the healthcare program for a limited time and are set to expire in December 2025. On December 16, the House Rules Committee voted down multiple amendments to extend the ACA subsides in some form, despite having support from some centrist Republicans.
Brian Fitzpatric (R-PA), offered an amendment that included fraud reforms but would extend the ACA subsidies for two years. Jen Kiggan (R-VA) offered an amendment that would extend the subsidies for one year but also includes new income caps and fraud protections. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) also offered an amendment with a two-year extension.
Another approach was presented by Nick LaLota (R-NY), whose two proposals similarly offered extensions but changed the upfront subsidy to a tax deduction.
Speaking to azfamily at a hospital in Phoenix before Congress adjourned, Senator Ruben Gallego emphasized the importance of finding a solution. “What we need to do is work together, pass a temporary extension of these subsidies, and then try to have a long-term fix to make sure we can find something that is actually workable in the long run to keep health care down. But right now, the worst thing we could do is just pull the rug out of 24 million Americans,” said Gallego.
This sentiment was echoed by one Arizona outlier—Republican Representative Juan Ciscomani—who joined a bipartisan coalition of 35 House members that is promoting “CommonGround 2025: A Bipartisan Health Care Framework.” The group sent a letter to the House and Senate leadership regarding a plan that would include extensions of ACA subsidies.
“Rising costs are already squeezing Arizona families, and these premium increases will only make things worse. The debate of how we got here is for another day — right now, we must act. Doing nothing is not an option,” said Congressman Ciscomani in a statement on December 4.
Approximately 400,000 people in Arizona get health insurance through ACA. According to Dr. Dan Derksen, a family physician and director for the Center of Rural Health at the University of Arizona, around 150,000 Arizonans would be priced out of their plans. “What we’re going to see in Arizona is a doubling to a tripling of what people have to absorb in out-of-pocket costs because they no longer qualify for these advanced premium tax credits,” he told 13 News.
According to enrollment reports from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, approximately 92% of ACA Marketplace enrollees receive some form of premium tax credits in 2025, which reduced monthly premiums from $619 per month on average to $113 per month.
In particular, the impact on Arizona’s seniors has raised concerns. In September, AARP produced a fact sheet stating that the ACA subsides resulted in a 50% reduction in uninsured adults aged 50 to 64. The fact sheet also claims that 4.8 million adults in this age group will face higher premiums if the tax credits expire.
According to the nonprofit KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation), the subsidy cuts may disproportionately affect elders in a few ways. About half (51%) of enrollees with incomes over four times poverty who would lose subsidy eligibility— $62,000 for an individual or $128,000 for a family of four with 2026 coverage—are between the ages of 50 and 64, compared to 23% of the non-elderly U.S. population.
While the House Republicans did pass a healthcare bill, the Senate is not expected to pass it. Meanwhile, a Democrat-led discharge petition to force a vote on extending ACA subsidies reached the required signatures and will see a vote in January. The Senate is not expected to pass that version either, though, so negotiations may continue until the next funding deadline on January 30.
