WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — The U.S. House on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, reviving tax credits that expired at the end of 2025 and setting up a renewed showdown with the Senate.
The bill passed 230–196, with 17 centrist Republicans joining all voting Democrats in support. The vote underscored Speaker Mike Johnson’s limited control over a fractured GOP conference and marked a rare success for a discharge petition that forced the bill to the floor over Republican leadership opposition.
The measure would reinstate expanded ObamaCare subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping millions of enrollees avoid sharp premium increases. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the three-year extension would cost roughly $80 billion.
Despite passage in the House, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated he may not bring the legislation to the floor, though bipartisan negotiators say talks are ongoing. That group is reportedly considering a narrower compromise that would extend subsidies for two years, impose income caps, and require minimum monthly premiums to address Republican concerns about cost and fraud.
Moderate Republicans backing the House bill argued the vote was intended to pressure the Senate into action rather than enact the three-year extension as written. Democrats, meanwhile, framed the vote as necessary to protect consumers facing immediate health care cost increases.
Abortion coverage under ACA plans, particularly the application of the Hyde Amendment, remains a central obstacle in Senate negotiations.
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