Republicans scramble for health care plan, as Democrats eye midterm battle [View all]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Nov 14, 2025, 6:00 AM ET


Republicans in Washington successfully defused the 43-day government shutdown without surrendering to Democrats’ demands to spend billions more to offset spiking health insurance costs. Now, the GOP is under mounting pressure to figure out its own plan.

Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire in just weeks – which would more than double the cost of premiums nationally for tens of millions of Americans. And it’s causing deep anxiety among some in the party, particularly in battleground seats, who worry Republicans will end up doing nothing to prevent those price hikes and enter a critical midterm year with the issue of health care haunting them once again.

GOP leaders in the House have begun work on their own package, which is unlikely to extend those subsidies and instead will seek other ways to reduce costs, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. But Republicans are not committing to doing anything on health care by December 31, when those subsidies expire and premiums are set to spike. Inside the White House, officials are accelerating efforts to put together a new health care plan that fulfills President Donald Trump’s desire to take another shot at overhauling Obamacare.

Those early discussions have sought to balance Trump’s demands against the broader Republican Party’s wariness of waging another politically disastrous health care war, four people familiar with the matter said. Officials are debating a limited package of conservative health care changes, including eliminating the enhanced ACA subsidies in favor of funneling money directly to Americans — potentially through an expansion of health savings accounts.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/politics/republicans-scramble-health-care-obamacare