House Speaker Discusses ACA Payments

On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson shared on “Mornings with Maria” that he hasn’t decided to propose legislation extending certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after the Senate approved a revised resolution on Monday that would fund the government until January 30, 2026. This agreement followed Republican support for a bill that would extend enhanced ACA subsidies, while seven Democrats and one independent helped break a filibuster led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Johnson mentioned to Bartiromo that he has no plans to support these “terrible policies” and feels no duty to present the bill to the House for a vote.

“I haven’t made any commitments, mainly because the Affordable Care Act has let the American people down. It achieved the opposite of what they were promised. The Democrats destroyed America’s health care system,” Johnson stated when asked about the potential House vote. “The rising premiums are a consequence of poor insurance decisions, and part of that comes from subsidies to insurance companies. Those were meant for during the pandemic. Remember, the expiration date of December 31 was set by the Democrats themselves because they realized it was questionable to sustain that as a permanent solution.”

“If there’s to be any extension, it must come with significant reforms and income limits. We shouldn’t be subsidizing health care for wealthy individuals. We need various reforms, including protective measures like Hyde protections,” he added.

Schumer faced criticism from some left-leaning media figures and Democrats in Congress regarding his support for a Republican spending measure aimed at averting a government shutdown in March.

The deal was negotiated by Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire, resulting in votes from Democrats including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen from Nevada, as well as Rep. Dick Durbin of Illinois, to end the filibuster on the continuing resolution.

“Everyone in Congress is aware that Republicans understood this bill would expire at year’s end. We were preparing to address it throughout October, November, and December. Ironically, it was the Democrats who spent a lot of time on tactics,” Johnson remarked.

“We’re serious about addressing this. It’s the Republicans—not the Democrats—who will work to reduce health care costs,” he concluded.