OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:50 PM – Thursday, December 4, 2025
Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a new plan on Thursday to extend enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies for three years without reforms, aiming to prevent premium spikes for about 24 million enrollees starting January 1, 2026.
This follows an earlier November 7th proposal by Schumer (D-N.Y.) during the recent government shutdown standoff, where Democrats offered a one-year extension tied to a funding deal, though Republicans rejected it as a “non-starter.”
At the time, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and other Republicans argued that the previous proposal had amounted to “pouring tens of billions of dollars through Obamacare … and the health-insurance companies,” warning that it would “burden taxpayers” and enrich insurers rather than “fix” the system.
Meanwhile, the brand new three-year extension bill, which is allegedly “clean,” will soon be announced by Schumer on the Senate floor, and it is scheduled for a vote next week. However, it is also expected to fail, as it requires 60 votes to advance and lacks GOP support.
Schumer further highlighted what he referred to as a GOP promise to hold a vote on the matter in exchange for reopening the government.
“This is the bill, a clean three-year extension of ACA tax credits, that Democrats will bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Thursday, and every single Democrat will support it,” Schumer stated.
Schumer also argued that the new bill would corner Senate Republicans, pushing them to face the impending surge in healthcare premiums with no unified rescue plan to shield them from the political fallout.
“Republicans have one week to decide where they stand. Vote for this bill and bring health care costs down, or block this bill and send premiums skyrocketing. That’s what’s at stake when we vote next week,” he continued. “It’s going to be one of the most important votes we take.”
Following the announcement, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) slammed Schumer’s resolution as a “complete failure.”
“The best they can do is say three three-year extension,” Barrasso stated. “It’s not really a credible offer at all. That’s what the Democrats are talking about. I don’t, I cannot in any way, imagine supporting such a thing, because it just highlights the fact that they don’t have a solution for the problem they’ve created with the failure of Obamacare.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of centrist Democrats and Republicans has also been crafting legislation aimed at securing a cross-party agreement on U.S. healthcare reform. However, the proposal is not expected to be ready for a vote next week.
“There are still a lot of conversations ongoing, but I think it will be difficult to get something by next week,” stated Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
Some GOP senators, including Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), have voiced concern over the absence of a comprehensive Republican plan, warning that failing to reach a deal could be “very painful” for millions.
“I think it will be very painful for a lot of working people,” Hawley stated. “They’re going to look and say, ‘What are you guys doing to help me to be able to buy health care and take my kids to the doctor?’”
“We need to do something on premiums. This is crunch time, it’s time the leaders locked themselves in a room and figure out what to do,” he continued. “If they can’t figure out a plan, then maybe, well, you got to do some kind of short-term extension until we figure out a plan.”
Although a unified GOP proposal has not yet materialized, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have been reportedly developing a plan to redirect subsidy funds straight into Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) instead of insurance companies.
Additionally, on November 18th, President Trump proclaimed that the “only” healthcare plan he will “support or approve” involves “sending the money directly back to the people, with nothing going to the big, fat, rich insurance companies, who have made $trillions, and ripped off American long enough.”
“The people will be allowed to negotiate and buy their own, much better, insurance. Power to the people! Congress, do not waste your time and energy on anything else. This is the only way to have great healthcare in America!!! Get it Done, Now,” The president wrote at the time.
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