Senate rejects ACA funding and a Republican alternative with premiums set to spike

The Senate rejected two health care bills, as the U.S. barrels toward a cliff with steep premium hikes for millions of Americans on Obamacare.

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate voted Thursday to reject health care bills offered by each party, as the U.S. barrels toward a cliff with steep premium hikes for millions of Americans set to hit next month.

The failed votes raise the likelihood that enhanced Obamacare subsidies passed in 2021 will expire at the end of this year and cause premiums to double on average for some 22 million Americans who benefit from that funding.

Neither bill achieved the 60 votes needed to advance, kicking the issue into the political arena. Democrats hope to use the issue to mobilize voters in the 2026 midterm elections if there is no outcome to prevent the cost increases.

“The Republican plan is a ‘when you get sick, you go broke’ plan,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday on the Senate floor.

Lawmakers spar over future of health insurance costs as subsidies are set to expire04:59The bill offered by Democrats on Thursday would have extended the enhanced Affordable Care Act funds for another three years. The legislation failed by a vote of 51-48, with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Alaska Republicans, joining Democrats to support it.