Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the 10th day of the federal government shutdown on Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
Obamacare subsidies were expanded in 2020 and 2021 to be available to more people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but then-Democratic majorities in Congress were only able to extend those for a finite period of time.
Whether to extend those subsidies was the subject of fierce debate on Capitol Hill in the waning months of 2025.
The vast majority of Republicans are opposed to extending the subsidies, dismissing them as a pandemic-era relic that's part of a broken federal healthcare system.
Republicans have also argued that the subsidies only eased costs for 7% of Americans and did nothing to tackle the root causes of high healthcare costs.
WATCH: DOCTOR-LAWMAKER BLAMES OBAMACARE FOR DRIVING HEALTH COSTS HIGHER
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
House Republicans passed a healthcare bill just before leaving Washington for their two-week holiday break in December.
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The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act includes provisions to codify association health plans, which allow small businesses and people who are self-employed to band together to purchase healthcare coverage plans, giving them access to greater bargaining power.
Republicans also plan to appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions beginning in 2027, which are designed to lower out-of-pocket medical costs in the individual healthcare market. House GOP leadership aides said it would bring down the cost of premiums by 12%.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-summons-health-insurers-capitol-hill-obamacare-battle-escalates