December 10, 2025
Tomorrow the Senate is going to vote on not one but two plans to try and prevent healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for about 24 million Americans in a matter of days.
But — I hate to break it to you – both of these plans are going to fail. So – at this point – it looks like if you are one of those Americans who gets your health insurance through the Affordable Care Act – brace yourself. You’re going to be paying a lot in January.
So – let’s talk about these two plans and what the democrats are offering and what the republicans are finally offering.
The Democrats are offering –the exact the same plan they’ve been trying to vote on since before the government shutdown. Their plan would simply extend the ACA subsidies exactly as they are now — for three more years. They say that gives them time to try and work out a deal with Republicans to fix the system that is broken. It’s a pipe dream. There is no way that proposal is going to reach the 60-vote threshold.
Moving on – let’s look at what the Republicans are finally offering. And this is interesting because it’s the first real Republican healthcare plan that’s been endorsed by Senate Republican leadership. Let me be clear, it will also not reach the 60 vote threshold and will also fail — but it is the first so we should look at it. It’s titled the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025.
First and foremost – under this new Republican proposal – those ACA enhanced premium subsidies are gone. They will expire at the end of 2025. Then for two years starting in January of 2026 the federal government – instead of the subsides – would deposit $1000 into a health savings account for qualified Americans who sign up for a bronze level or catastrophic plan on the ACA exchange. To qualify for that $1000 you must be between the ages of 18 and 49 and make less than 700% of the federal poverty level – which translates to $109,550 a year as a single person and $225,050 a year for a family of four. If you meet that same income threshold and you are between the ages of 50 and 64 the federal government will deposit $1500 dollars into a health savings account if you choose a bronze level or catastrophic plan. The plan does not promise lower out of pocket health care costs – instead it says you can use those funds the government just deposited in your health savings account to pay for the increased out of pocket costs associated with your healthcare. The proposal prohibits that heath savings account money from being used for abortion or gender transition services.
The Republican sponsors of the bill say by the year 2027 ACA premiums could be 11% cheaper because the government will once again start reimbursing the health insurance companies – with taxpayer money — for lower cost deductibles, copays and out of pocket maximums through what are called cost sharing reduction payments.
This plan says by 2027 more people will be eligible to sign up for a catastrophic plan and it reduces Medicaid funding to states that provide any kind of health care coverage to migrants who are not in the country legally.
Here’s the thing. Even if by some miracle one of these plans – or even one of the other plans being floated that *don’t* have the endorsement of senate leadership – get those 60 votes and pass the senate, House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to holding any kind of vote on healthcare and has not endorsed any healthcare plan.
Read the GOP Senate proposal here.
