Members of the House of Representatives are heading home for the holidays after passing a bill that does not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. As a result, premium payments for millions of Americans are expected to spike in January.
Members returning to their home districts will not be back in Washington, D.C., until early 2026.
Lawmakers, largely Republicans, were not able to come together around a counterproposal to Democratic plans for a three-year extension to ACA subsidies.
There were a handful of moderate Republicans who did want some sort of extension settled in 2025, so that Americans wouldn't be stuck with higher costs ahead of the 2026 midterms. Four Republicans ultimately voted with Democrats to force a vote in early 2026 on whether to make a proposed three-year extension.
Even now, with no deal done, some are hopeful a resolution will be quick.
"I'm a perpetual optimist. In this particular case, what makes me optimistic is that we do have strong bipartisan support for a compromise," Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) told Scripps News. "I think that any of these compromises that combines a short-term extension with reforms can command a majority in the House and that would then pass the Senate. So we just need to break the logjam that unfortunately has been created by leadership on both sides."
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Americans can still sign up for health coverage through the ACA marketplace until Jan. 15, but coverage will not start until February — which means a policy holder will be uninsured for the first month of the year.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson is now required to bring the measure on an ACA extension to the floor within the next seven legislative days, meaning a vote will occur in early January.
