Eleanor Walsh, who faces an increase of approximately $14,300 in health insurance costs this year as the Affordable Care Act subsidies sunset, said she was pleased that the U.S. House passed a three-year extension on the subsidies.
But, Walsh said she’s still anxious about the measure successfully passing the Senate and then being signed by President Donald Trump.
“I am happy about it. I wish the rest of it all falls in place too,” Walsh said.
Walsh, who lives in St. John, said in 2025 her and her husband paid approximately $9,100 for health insurance, and in 2026 it will increase to $23,400. To save money, they decided to switch to a different insurance plan, she said.
In November, her husband had open-heart surgery to fix an aortic valve, Walsh said. While they used insurance for the operation, they still have been left with more than $10,000 in medical debt, she said.
While the subsidy extension doesn’t address the increase in insurance costs, it will be a huge help to decrease the overall cost, Walsh said.
“It’s still going to be a big increase, but it will still be a big relief if we can get some subsidy from the deal,” Walsh said.
The House passed legislation Thursday that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as 17 renegade GOP lawmakers joined every Democrat in support.
The tally, 230-196, signified growing political concern over Americans’ rising health care premiums. Forcing the issue to a vote came about after a handful of Republicans signed on to a so-called “discharge petition” to unlock debate, bypassing objections from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana. The bill now goes to the Senate, where pressure is building for a bipartisan compromise.
Together, the rare political coalitions are rushing to resolve the standoff over the enhanced tax credits that were put in place during the COVID-19 crisis but expired late last year after no agreement was reached during the government shutdown.
Ahead of the vote, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill, which would provide a three-year extension of the subsidy, would increase the nation’s deficit by about $80.6 billion over the decade. At the same time, it would increase the number of people with health insurance by 100,000 this year, 3 million in 2027, 4 million in 2028 and 1.1 million in 2029, the CBO said.
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, voted to approve the extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies “to protect healthcare access for Northwest Indiana residents,” he said.
Mrvan said he supported the subsidies because amid the uncertainty around the extension of the tax credit, health insurance companies haven’t been able to accurately predict premiums for 2026.
“Forcing Americans to renew their health insurance plans without knowing exactly how high their premiums will be in 2026, creating uncertainty,” Mrvan said.
Mrvan shared stories from constituents who called him to ask him to vote in favor of the extension.
Margaret, from Gary, whose healthcare for 2026 under the Affordable Care Act increased from $343 to $1,000 per month. Margaret decided to forgo health insurance and “pray she does not have a healthcare emergency this year,” Mrvan said.
Sarah, from LaPorte, runs a business with her husband and they are raising two children, Mrvan said. Her family will see the Affordable Care Act coverage premiums from $1,500 to $4,000 month, he said.
Kirk, from Valparaiso, is a cancer survivor who relies on the Affordable Care Act for his treatment, Mrvan said. Kirk and his wife can barely afford the premium payments, and any increase in the payment would make the plan unaffordable, Mrvan said.
“The goal of the vote today was to make it a little bit easier and to make sure that those individuals who rely on the ACA for healthcare have the ability to have access, and for everyday Americans to be able to provide for their families and to be able to provide healthcare,” Mrvan said.
While the momentum from the vote shows the growing support for the tax breaks that have helped some 22 million Americans have access to health insurance, the Senate would be under no requirement to take up the House bill and has already rejected it once before.
Instead, a small group of senators from both parties has been working on an alternative plan that could find support in both chambers and become law. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that for any plan to find support in his chamber, it will need to have income limits to ensure that the financial aid is focused on those who most need the help. He and other Republicans also want to ensure that beneficiaries would have to at least pay a nominal amount of their coverage.
Finally, Thune said there would need to be some expansion of health savings accounts, which allow people to save money and withdraw it tax-free as long as the money is spent on qualified medical expenses.
Trump has pushed Republicans to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can bypass the federal government and handle insurance on their own. Democrats largely reject this idea as insufficient for covering the high costs of health care.
The action by Republicans to force a vote has been a rebuke to Johnson and his leadership team, who essentially lost control of what comes to the House floor as the Republican lawmakers joined Democrats for the workaround.
After last year’s government shutdown failed to resolve the issue, Johnson had discussed allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on another health care bill that would temporarily extend the subsidies while also adding changes.
But after days of discussions, Johnson and the GOP leadership sided with the more conservative wing, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up the ACA, which they consider a failed government program. He offered a modest proposal of health care reforms that was approved, but has stalled.
It was then that rank-and-file lawmakers took matters into their own hands, as many of their constituents faced soaring health insurance premiums beginning this month.
What started as a long-shot effort by Democrats to offer a discharge petition has become a political vindication of the Democrats’ government shutdown strategy as they fought to preserve the health care funds.
Democrats intend to focus on the higher health insurance costs many Americans are facing as part of their efforts to retake the majority in the House and Senate in the fall general election.
Trump, during a lengthy speech this week to House GOP lawmakers, encouraged his party to take control of the health care debate — an issue that has stymied Republicans since he tried, and failed, to repeal the ACA during his first term.
The Associated Press contributed.