Republicans are split on extending Obamacare tax breaks as higher costs loom

Some Republicans are pushing to extend expiring Obamcare subsidies to avert insurance premium hikes and millions of Americans losing health coverage.

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders are facing growing calls from their members to extend a bucket of funding for the Affordable Care Act that is slated to expire at the end of this year as some look to avert insurance premium hikes and millions of Americans losing health coverage.

But the cause faces opposition from conservatives who detest “Obamacare,” as the law is nicknamed, and don’t want to lift a finger to protect it. Some argue it’d be too expensive to continue the premium tax credits, which cost over $30 billion per year and were initially adopted as part of a Covid-19 response.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that about 5 million Americans will lose their insurance by 2034 if the money expires.

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said “a lot of people” are discussing how to address the ACA subsidies. But the party is torn.

“I’m not saying where I am on that issue, but it’s definitely part of the conversation,” Smith told NBC News. “There’s some interest to do something. There’s some interest to do nothing. So it’s threading that needle.”