Congressional Cowards is a weekly sequence highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—irrespective of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
As thousands and thousands of Individuals are bracing to see their medical health insurance premiums greater than double attributable to Republicans’ refusal to increase enhanced Reasonably priced Care Act tax credit, GOP lawmakers insisted this week that they’ll repair well being care in america. Simply belief them!
By no means thoughts that Republicans for the previous 15 years have didn’t give you a well being care plan that Individuals need or one which improves on the ACA, often known as Obamacare. Republicans are insisting that in the event that they’re given just a bit extra time they’ll repair the entire well being care system.
At a closed-door assembly on Tuesday, Home Republicans introduced 10 potential concepts, none of which included extending the improved ACA tax credit to forestall the approaching premium will increase.
But Republicans left the assembly no nearer to an settlement on learn how to transfer ahead because the clock ticks down for Individuals who depend on these credit to remain insured.
Speaker of the Home Mike Johnson, third from proper, stands with conservative Home members, from left, Andy Ogles, Ralph Norman, and Keith Self in January.
“The consensus is we need to come up with something,” Rep. Ralph Norman, Republican of South Carolina, stated.
Senate Republicans, in the meantime, voted on a plan on Thursday that will give low-income Individuals $1,000 to place in well being financial savings accounts. And the proposal failed, receiving fewer than the 60 votes it wanted to keep away from a filibuster.
But, even when it had handed, it wouldn’t have been adequate to assist the entire thousands and thousands of Individuals who’re about to be hit with huge premium will increase.
“Under the Senate Republican ACA plan, premium payments would still more than double next year. Healthy people could be better off in a high deductible plan with a health savings account. People who are sick would face big premium increases or a deductible they can’t afford,” Larry Levitt, government vice chairman for well being coverage at KFF, wrote in a put up on X.
To the mainstream media’s credit score, reporters grilled Republicans on why, after greater than a decade and a half of bitching concerning the perils of Obamacare, they nonetheless don’t have any plan to switch it.
However their solutions had been predictably cowardly.
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FOX: What do you say to Individuals who say to Republicans, the place’s your healthcare plan? If they are not getting their subsidy, what’s choice B?
McCORMICK: Within the brief time period, we’re nonetheless wrestling with learn how to cope with this
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-09T20:11:33.990Z
“I’m not sure what we can say,” Sen. Roger Marshall, Republican of Kansas, advised CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after she requested why the GOP nonetheless has no concrete proposal.
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COLLINS: You discuss 15 years of Obamacare. However that additionally means Republicans have had 15 years to give you an answer and haven’t but accomplished so.
ROGER MARSHALL: I am unsure what we are able to say
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-11T03:04:33.443Z
In the end, Republicans can complain concerning the ACA and declare they’ll make well being care extra inexpensive for under so lengthy. There’ll come some extent the place Individuals will likely be actively damage by the GOP’s disarray and refusal to cross a palatable well being care legislation that ensures they’ll get the care they want and never go bankrupt within the course of.
And Republicans is not going to like the results of their well being care failures subsequent November, when voters will get the prospect to make their displeasure recognized on the poll field.
“We’ve got to solve it,” retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina advised CNN. “Or going into next year, we will own a problem that [Democrats] created.”
