Originally published on 1/9/26

OOn Thursday, January 8, the House of Representatives voted to revise the expired Affordable Care Act  (ACA) premium tax credits, a move that could help some 22 million Americans get access to more affordable healthcare coverage. This news comes after Congress failed to extend the program’s enhanced subsidies in 2025, causing Americans’ 2026 premium costs to double . Below, we share what exactly happened in the highly publicized House vote, along with information on the next steps for extending the expired ACA—also known as Obamacare—funds. 

What to know about the most recent ACA news

In one of their first meetings of 2026, the House of Representatives voted to bring back enhanced ACA subsidies in a 230 to 196 vote. In doing so, they have opened the door for Americans to potentially see the cost of their health insurance premiums drop over the next three years. 

This move comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson announced last month that the House would not be voting to extend the subsidies, a decision he said came after several intense conversions and debates.

“There’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who are fighting hard to make sure they reduce costs for all of their constituents. And many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy that Democrats created,” Johnson told reporters in December. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure-release valve, and it just was not to be. We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact. And in the end there was not an agreement—it wasn’t made.”

Prior to that announcement, the Senate had discussed extending the enhanced subsidies, but they also had no luck approving either bill. 

The first one, backed by Senate Republicans, would have given Americans aged 50 to 64 earning less than 700 percent of the federal poverty level $1,500 a year in payments for health savings accounts (HSAs). It would not have extended the ACA tax credits, and the $1,500 HSA would not have allowed the funds to be  used toward healthcare premiums. 

The plan was vetoed in December 2025 in a 51 to 48 vote, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, “The Republican plan is when you get sick, you go broke, plain and simple.” 

The Democrat-backed Senate bill, on the other hand, would have extended the ACA for another three years, allowing people on the program to continue paying reduced premium rates, but it was vetoed in a 51-48 vote. 

“Democrats may talk about helping Americans, but their bill is nothing more than a political messaging exercise that they hope they can use against Republicans next November,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a statement.

As a result of all of that, enhanced ACA subsidies expired at the end of 2025, causing America’s premiums to double in 2026—a move that angered Americans and lawmakers. 

A look at when the new ACA subsidies could take affect 

Now that the House has voted to approve the bill to extend the enhanced subsidies, it will go to the Senate, where they will either approve or deny it. There is no word on when they will meet to do that. 

 If the Senate does sign off on it, the bill will then go to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he will have the final say in making it a law or not. 

As of publication, he has not commented on the new bill. 

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/life/money/healthcare-marketplace-enrollment-2025-what-you-need-to-know