Congressional Republicans are eyeing their own fixes to Obamacare subsidies, but the Senate and House are diverging in their approaches. Ultimately, President Donald Trump will be the deciding factor. (Getty Images)
And both chambers are eyeing different approaches, which could further complicate the path forward to reaching a deal by the end of the year.
In the upper chamber, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has guaranteed Senate Democrats a vote on a proposal of their choice. However, whatever kind of legislation they put on the floor has to be bipartisan, given the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, in order to pass.
Whether a plan can be bipartisan is still in the early stages, and a roadblock could be the GOP’s desire to include the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds from covering the costs of abortions.
Thune said the major question was "will the Democrats accept applying Hyde to any changes or reforms that might be made?"
"I mean, I think there's an openness, because, you know, we've got members, and a lot of members, who are very interested in addressing the affordability of healthcare," he said. "The question is, what's the best way to do it?"
Senate Republicans have floated proposals since before the shutdown ended, but there is some consensus growing behind taking subsidy money and putting it directly into healthcare savings accounts (HSAs) for Americans — something Trump has backed and was first floated by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
Scott and Republicans scoffed at Senate Democrats’ proposal to extend the subsidies for one year, and contended doing so would send billions directly to insurance companies. They also want reforms and guardrails like the Hyde Amendment language.
DEMS PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO KEEP OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FIGHT ALIVE AFTER VOTE TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT
Rep. August Pfluger, Republican Study Committee chairman, speaks at a press conference during the government shutdown in Washington on Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Harris also backed the idea of an HSA, telling reporters, "It works with the functionality of a debit card. You can go to any provider, and that provider has to give you the most favorable rate."
A senior House GOP lawmaker also told Fox News Digital that Republicans were in the process of working on legislation specifically aimed at reforming different sectors of the healthcare system.
Tentative plans include reforms on cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs, pharmaceutical reform, and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reforms, the lawmaker said.
CSRs are a discount facilitated by the federal government, written under Obamacare, which help lower how much people pay for deductibles and copayments.
PBMs, meanwhile, act as intermediaries between drug companies and insurers — a system critics have said chiefly serves to inflate the cost of prescription drugs for consumers.
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But another House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity was skeptical that the GOP could pass another reconciliation bill after the long and politically precarious process of Trump’s "big, beautiful bill."
"I don’t even see close to the votes for another reconciliation," the second GOP lawmaker said. "I think some of us are a little snake-bit on where the money that was supposed to go places, isn’t going where it’s supposed to go."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-wrestles-obamacare-fix-trump-looms-over-subsidy-fight