House Speaker Johnson Rebuffs Efforts to Extend Health Care Subsidies, Pushing Ahead With Gop Plan

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 16: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media following a closed door meeting with members of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill on December 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed back to Capitol Hill to speak with lawmakers as questions mount about strikes carried out by the U.S. military on suspected drug boats out of Venezuela ordered by the Trump Administration. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act recipients. The enhanced tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at year’s end. Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed allowing more politically vulnerable Republicans lawmakers a chance to vote on their plan that would temporarily extend the pandemic-era subsidies. But leadership ultimately sided with conservatives who assailed the subsidies as propping up Obamacare. The outcome all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026.