{"id":2529859,"date":"2026-01-05T08:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/10-reasons-gop-shouldnt-extend-enhanced-obamacare-subsidies\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T08:11:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:11:11","slug":"10-reasons-gop-shouldnt-extend-enhanced-obamacare-subsidies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/10-reasons-gop-shouldnt-extend-enhanced-obamacare-subsidies\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Reasons GOP Shouldn\u2019t Extend Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F10-reasons-gop-shouldnt-extend-enhanced-obamacare-subsidies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2529859&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Chris Jacobs, founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, argues in an opinion piece that Republicans will be forced to spend early 2026 debating Democrats&#8217; proposal to extend enhanced Covid-era Obamacare subsidies because four House Republicans filed a discharge petition that effectively puts the measure on the floor. He notes the Senate already rejected a similar proposal and says the maneuver hands Democrats political and legislative leverage.<\/p>\n<p>Jacobs summarizes why he and others should oppose the proposal (which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would cost about $88 billion): it would not lower gross premiums in 2026, would permanently expand Obamacare, and would not fix widespread fraud in the insurance exchanges. He contends the subsidies subsidize coverage for services many Americans find objectionable (citing abortion and gender\u2011affirming care), would raise the federal deficit, and could erode <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-to-vote-on-democrat-insulin-bill-viewed-as-election-boon-for-raphael-warnock\/\" title=\"House to ... on Democrat Insulin ... Viewed as Election Boon for Raphael Warnock\">employer-sponsored coverage<\/a> (CBO estimates 2.1 million fewer with employer plans).<\/p>\n<p>He also argues insurers would benefit &#8211; perhaps gaining billions in additional profit &#8211; and that zero-dollar premiums are not truly &#8220;free,&#8221; encouraging fraud and crowding out other coverage. jacobs objects to lifting income caps that can make wealthy households eligible for subsidies and says the policy structure incentivizes higher underlying health costs rather than reducing them.<\/p>\n<p>His bottom line: the proposal is bad policy and poor politics, and Republicans should stop reacting to Democratic priorities and instead focus on lowering the real cost of health care.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Congress returns to Washington this week, and with apologies to Yogi Berra, it&rsquo;s <em>d&eacute;j&agrave; vu<\/em> all over again. After spending much of the latter months of 2025 debating Democrat proposals to extend enhanced Covid-era Obamacare subsidies, the Republican-controlled Congress will spend the opening weeks of 2026 &hellip; debating Democrat proposals to extend enhanced Covid-era Obamacare subsidies.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Unsound Political Strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If this makes little sense to you, you&rsquo;re not alone. But the House of Representatives faces an inevitable vote on an enhanced subsidy extension because, right before Christmas, four renegade Republicans &mdash; Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan, and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/5652894-house-republicans-aca-subsidies-lawler-fitzpatrick-bresnahan-mackenzie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed a discharge petition<\/a> effectively granting control of the House floor to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and the rest of the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>The gambit seems inexplicable on a number of levels. It will (<a href=\"https:\/\/juniperresearchgroup.substack.com\/p\/what-is-brian-fitzpatrick-thinking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apparently<\/a>) force a vote on a bill that the Senate has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1191\/vote_119_1_00644.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">already rejected<\/a>. And given that Fitzpatrick voted <a href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/Votes\/2017256?Page=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">against<\/a> the House Republican &ldquo;repeal-and-replace&rdquo; bill in May 2017, yet still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2018\/10\/15\/democratic-attack-ad-falsely-knocks-republican-preexisting-conditions\/?utm_term=.2ea54de07ccc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">got attacked by Democrats<\/a> in the 2018 campaign over health care, the moderates&rsquo; abject surrender won&rsquo;t mean they can escape Democrats&rsquo; political scare tactics this fall. But it will mean the Republican-controlled House will have to spend more time and energy debating Democrat priorities.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Worse Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/juniperresearchgroup.substack.com\/p\/what-is-brian-fitzpatrick-thinking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">procedural machinations<\/a> associated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-attempt-to-bypass-debt-ceiling-negotiations\/\" title=\"House ... Attempt To Bypass Debt...Ceiling Negotiations\">discharge petition maneuver<\/a>, it remains unclear exactly what piece of legislation the House will vote on. But, assuming the bill in question echoes the three-year enhanced subsidy extension that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/senate-bill\/3385\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put forward<\/a> for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1191\/vote_119_1_00644.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vote in that body<\/a> last month, representatives will have at least 10 reasons not to vote for this particular proposal:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. No Effect on Gross Premiums in 2026<\/strong>: In its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-12\/s3385.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cost estimate<\/a>, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) admitted that the bill would have no effect on gross premiums for the current plan year &ldquo;because those premiums have already been set.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Expands and Entrenches Obamacare<\/strong>: The bill would, for the second time, extend Covid-era enhanced subsidies that were designed to be temporary, amounting to a major entitlement expansion on the installment plan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> <strong>Continues and Perpetuates Fraud<\/strong>: The bill contains no reforms to address the fraud that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-08\/61506-marketplace.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBO<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-26-108742.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Government Accountability Office<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/paragoninstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-Greater-Obamacare-Enrollment-Fraud_RELEASE_V4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other independent estimates<\/a> have said plagues insurance Exchanges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Funds Plans Covering Services Americans Find Morally Objectionable<\/strong>: Pro-life groups have <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pub-attachments\/15db750c-dbdd-4b7b-806f-b5129a6b22ae.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consistently noted<\/a> that Obamacare subsidizes <a href=\"https:\/\/americarenewing.com\/issues\/primer-obamacare-subsidies-and-abortion-coverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">plans that cover abortion<\/a>. In recent months, Maryland has used Obamacare dollars to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/shots-health-news\/2025\/07\/17\/nx-s1-5459881\/maryland-abortion-fund-affordable-care-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/subsidizing-the-abortion-industry-amazon-to-fund-abortion-tourism-for-its-employees\/\" title=\"\u2018Subsidizing The Abortion Industry\u2019: Amazon To Fund Abortion Tourism For Its Employees\">fund abortion tourism<\/a><\/a> for out-of-state residents and encouraged other blue states to follow suit. Moreover, Obamacare subsidies have also been used to fund <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.colorado.gov\/for-consumers\/consumer-resources\/special-insurance-topics\/lgbtq-health-care-rights\/gender-affirming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transgender procedures<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/americarenewing.com\/issues\/obamacare-subsidies-and-transgender-procedures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">many Americans find objectionable<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmhc.ca.gov\/Portals\/0\/Docs\/OPL\/APL24-018-CompliancewithSB923(8_15_24).pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political indoctrination<\/a> that violates the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Increases the Federal Deficit<\/strong>: With the federal government over <a href=\"https:\/\/fiscaldata.treasury.gov\/datasets\/debt-to-the-penny\/debt-to-the-penny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$38 trillion in debt<\/a>, many would question the wisdom of incurring another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-12\/s3385.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$88 billion<\/a> in deficit spending to subsidize health insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Undermines Employer-Provided Health Coverage<\/strong>: CBO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-12\/s3385.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> that under the bill, 2.1 million fewer Americans would have employer-sponsored coverage. Expanding and entrenching Obamacare will only encourage more businesses to stop offering insurance and dump their workers onto the Exchanges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Increases Insurer Profits<\/strong>: The bill directs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-12\/s3385.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$88 billion<\/a> in taxpayer funds to insurance companies. Because Obamacare allows them to keep one-fifth of premium dollars for profit and administrative expenses, the bill could see insurance companies receiving up to $17.6 billion in added profit &mdash; all at taxpayer expense.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. &ldquo;Free&rdquo; Health Coverage<\/strong>: The bill would extend the zero-dollar premiums for some enrollees that are anything but &ldquo;free&rdquo; for taxpayers. These plans have been a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2025-08\/61506-marketplace.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">major source of fraud<\/a> and encourage individuals to retain their Exchange plan, even if they have other sources of insurance coverage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Welfare for the Wealthy<\/strong>: The bill would again lift the income cap on eligibility that Obamacare placed on its subsidy regime, allowing households with incomes <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/02\/how-democrats-covid-bill-gives-welfare-to-the-wealthy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in excess of $500,000<\/a> to qualify for &ldquo;low-income&rdquo; insurance subsidies in some instances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Raises, Rather than Lowers, Underlying Health Costs<\/strong>: Not only does the bill not contain any reforms to lower the actual cost of health care, but Obamacare&rsquo;s subsidy mechanism, under which every additional premium dollar is subsidized by federal taxpayers, only encourages health insurers to raise premiums.<\/p>\n<p>I could go on (and on and on), but I won&rsquo;t. Here&rsquo;s hoping that, regardless of what happens with the upcoming vote in the House, Republicans stop playing into Democrats&rsquo; hands and start turning their attention toward reducing the underlying cost of health care, rather than <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >throwing good taxpayer money<\/a> over bad at a failing Obamacare program.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress again debates extending COVID-era subsidies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2529860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mike-Johnson-Signs-Mayorkas-Impeachment.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6203,70144,12589,68744,45456],"class_list":["post-2529859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-gop","tag-health-care-policy","tag-obamacare","tag-obamacare-subsidies","tag-republican-strategy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mike-Johnson-Signs-Mayorkas-Impeachment.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529859"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2529863,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529859\/revisions\/2529863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}