WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune is keeping the door open to a potential extension of tax credits under the Affordable Care Act that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
The issue has divided Republicans, with some calling for extending the funds to avoid insurance premium hikes next year, an idea that numerous conservatives in the party oppose.
Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday that the onus is on Democrats to propose a solution the Republican-controlled Congress can accept but that it’s a legitimate issue for some in his party.
NBC News asked Thune at his news conference whether he could support an extension of the ACA enhanced subsidies, either as part of a government funding package or as a separate vehicle.
“Well, the Democrats created this problem by putting the deadline or the phase-outs in the legislation they acted on earlier and by dramatically expanding the size of the program in the first place,” he replied. “So I hope they will come to us with a suggestion and a solution about how to address it. But obviously it’s something that, yeah, some of our members are paying attention to.”
The issue has risen as a concern for many Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with some strategists in the party warning that voters will punish them if the subsidies expire and lead to premium increases next year.
Democrats passed the funds during the Biden administration, and they are set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats are dialing up the pressure on the GOP to extend them.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told NBC News in a statement that Democrats have repeatedly forced votes on legislation to extend the ACA funding this year, only to be rejected by Republicans each time.
“Three times this year, Senate Democrats tried to extend the ACA tax credits to keep coverage affordable, and three times Republicans said no. Democrats won’t stop fighting to lower costs and protect families’ care,” he said. “If Republicans are finally waking up, it’s not out of compassion — it’s because they know their cruel, billionaire-first agenda is indefensible to the American people.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who has introduced the bill to keep the ACA funds flowing permanently, said in a statement to NBC News: “Families are already struggling with high costs, and allowing these tax credits to expire would make things much worse for working Americans.”
She added, “Both sides recognize that we need to get something done, and I sincerely hope my Republican colleagues don’t stand in the way.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been noncommittal on the issue, but he similarly kept the door open to a funding extension.
Even some red-state GOP lawmakers support the idea, including Sen. Mike Rounds, Thune’s fellow South Dakotan.
But Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said he believes Republicans won’t ultimately extend the ACA funding.
“I do not believe it’ll happen,” Roy said in an interview last week.
If it does come to a vote, “it won’t remotely have my support,” he added. “It certainly would be a major dividing line.”
Republican pollster John McLaughlin is urging an extension of the ACA funds, writing an opinion piece last week under the headline, “A Health Care Tax Hike Poses the Greatest Midterm Threat to the GOP.”
“Having worked with President Trump for over a decade to transform the Republican Party from a party of country club losers to a winning majority party of working middle-class Americans, these are our MAGA voters who need this tax credit. Working middle-class Americans need affordable health care,” McLaughlin wrote, adding that “preserving the health care tax credit should be a top legislative priority for Congress this fall.”
“Going into next year’s midterm elections, we can’t afford to lose the votes of these working MAGA voters,” he wrote. “We need them to come back out to the polls.”
