Speaker Johnson answers MTG: GOP leaders plugged into expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended himself and fellow GOP leaders after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized them for lacking a plan to deal with the expiring COVID expansion of Obamacare subsidies. 

“There’s a lot of work that’s been done on that,” Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said Tuesday. “It’s implied as if this has been some sort of ignored issue. It’s not that at all.”

Ms. Greene, Georgia Republican, took to social media on Monday to announce her support for extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which Democrats are demanding to reopen the government.

It was a notable break from other right-wing lawmakers who want to see the pandemic expansion expire at year’s end.  

“It is absolutely shameful, disgusting, and traitorous, that our laws and policies screw the American people so much that the government is shut down right now fighting over basic issues like this,” Ms. Greene posted on X.

She criticized GOP leaders for showing a lack of interest in addressing the issue. 

“Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Ms. Greene wrote. 

Mr. Johnson said Ms. Greene is “probably not read in” on the work behind the scenes because she doesn’t serve on the committees of jurisdiction.

“They’ve still been sort of in their silos, of the people who specialize in those issues,” he said. “When we get the conference back and when everybody’s back together, we will go through a lot of that.”

Ms. Greene posted that she’s “not a fan” of Obamacare and generally believes insurance is a “scam,” but she is “absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.”

Democrats expanded the premium tax credits, as the Obamacare subsidies are called, during the COVID-19 pandemic to cover families earning above 400% of the federal poverty level and capped out-of-pocket premium costs at 8.5% of household income. Those enhancements are the ones set to expire this year, but the base subsidies would continue regardless of whether Congress acts. 

Letting the enhancements lapse would “more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay annually for premiums — a 114% increase from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026,” according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York seized on Ms. Greene’s support for extending the subsidies as evidence of “a growing number of Republicans, [who] clearly are adopting the enlightened, Democratic position that this fight is about the health care of working class Americans.”

“It’s Republicans in terms of the leadership that is missing in action, that is currently on vacation, that has canceled votes and that refuses to deal with the health care crisis that Republicans have created,” he said.

Ms. Greene doubled down on her wake-up call, posting, “I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.”

The Georgia representative said she would meet with any lawmaker interested in developing a plan to extend the subsidies, but only for American citizens.  

“I’m not towing the party line on this, or playing loyalty games. I’m a Republican and won’t vote for illegals to have any tax payer funded healthcare or benefits,” she wrote. “I’m AMERICA ONLY!!! I’m carving my own lane.”

The law already bars illegal immigrants from receiving federal health benefits, including the Obamacare subsidies, but 22 categories of noncitizens are designated in regulations as eligible to participate in Affordable Care Act exchanges and receive taxpayer benefits, according to the Congressional Research Service. 

That includes those who have applied for asylum, those paroled, those covered by temporary protected status or a similar deferred enforced departure, among other categories of legal statuses that many Republicans throw under the “illegal” umbrella. 

Mr. Johnson has been clear in his messaging that Republicans don’t want to spend taxpayer dollars on health care for illegal immigrants and most noncitizens. 

The speaker has said the GOP is willing to negotiate with Democrats on a potential extension of the Obamacare subsidies once the government is open.

In countering Ms. Greene’s claims that GOP leaders are ignoring the issue, Mr. Johnson noted that he’s spoken to several members from both the moderate and conservative ends of the conference about their policy ideas for how to address the enhanced subsidies expiring.

“There are lots of conversations and deliberations and discussions right now, even bipartisan amongst members, about necessary changes that would have to be made — pretty dramatic changes — to even have that considered on the floor,” he said.