As the government shutdown stretches into its fifth week, AMAC is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with leading conservative organizations in urging Congress not to cave to Democrat demands to extend temporary Obamacare subsidies that were only ever supposed to be short-term pandemic relief.
In a coalition letter to Senate Republican Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, AMAC and other groups applauded congressional leadership for their “masterful handling of the current government shutdown thus far, particularly your resistance to the Democrat demand that extending the expanded Obamacare subsidies be a condition for re-opening the federal government.”
The letter, which was signed by AMAC CEO Rebecca Weber along with organizations such as Advancing American Freedom, Concerned Women for America, and the Job Creators Network, urged congressional leaders to maintain “principled opposition to the expanded subsidies” that were enacted by a Democrat Congress and signed by a Democrat president during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The expanded Obamacare subsidies “were intended as additional help during the COVID-19 pandemic and were deliberately designed to expire when the COVID emergency ended,” the letter states. “The expanded subsidies, like the underlying Obamacare subsidies, go directly to insurance companies, not families, and can be retained by insurance companies, even when claims are not filed against them.”
That means these taxpayer-funded payments—costing more than $400 billion over the next decade—are flowing directly into the pockets of insurance companies, not the Americans struggling with record premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
A Democrat Shutdown
The ongoing government shutdown began on October 1 after Senate Democrats blocked a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would have kept the government open through November 21 at the same funding levels they themselves supported under President Biden—levels they voted for no fewer than 13 times. But this time, Democrats refused to allow a vote unless Republicans agreed to extend the temporary Obamacare subsidies and roll back key provisions of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Because most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes, at least eight Democrats would need to cross the aisle to pass the Republican CR. So far, only three have. As a result, Democrats are holding the government hostage to force through an extension of subsidies that were supposed to end once the pandemic did.
The True Cost of Obamacare Subsidies
As the Wall Street Journal recently explained, “These subsidies—costing taxpayers more than $400 billion over the next decade—have enticed higher-income Americans into unaffordable plans and distorted insurance markets. They belong in the dustbin of history.”
Originally, Affordable Care Act premium subsidies were available only to those earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level—about $62,600 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four in 2025. But during the pandemic, Democrats temporarily removed that income cap, meaning “a family of four in Arizona making $600,000, a married couple in West Virginia making $580,000, and a single individual in Vermont making $180,000 all qualify for subsidies.”
Put simply, taxpayers are now subsidizing wealthy households to buy expensive health plans that many Americans can’t afford on their own. These subsidies “go directly to insurers to cap enrollees’ premium contributions at a certain percentage of their income,” effectively disguising the true cost of Obamacare plans behind massive government transfers.
Meanwhile, average premiums have increased nearly 80 percent since 2014 and more than doubled since 2011, while deductibles average $5,000 and out-of-pocket maximums exceed $21,000—with one in five claims denied. Despite $130 billion in annual subsidies, Obamacare enrollees are getting worse coverage for higher costs.
A Handout to Big Insurance—Paid by the Middle Class
As AMAC and its allies noted, these expanded subsidies don’t just waste taxpayer dollars—they reward the very corporate interests driving healthcare inflation. “The expanded subsidies provide benefits to some households with incomes over $500,000” and “fund plans that cover abortion and sex-change procedures,” the letter points out. “If extending these subsidies is wrong in September and October, doing so will still be wrong in November, December, and beyond.”
This policy isn’t about helping low-income families—it’s about funneling billions to insurance companies while middle- and working-class taxpayers foot the bill. As the Wall Street Journal put it, “Since 2021, Congress has been bribing higher-income Americans to purchase expensive Obamacare plans by hiding the plans’ true price tags using taxpayer dollars.”
The Path Forward
President Donald Trump’s economic policies have already brought inflation under control, restored consumer confidence, and unleashed economic growth. But now, Democrats want to resurrect the inflation monster by extending an absurdly expensive Obamacare policy that distorts the insurance market and drains taxpayers.
The solution is clear: let these subsidies expire as planned and return to a system that empowers patients, not bureaucrats or insurance executives. Innovative, affordable options—such as direct primary care, health-share ministries, and tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts—are already offering better care at lower costs.
As AMAC CEO Rebecca Weber affirmed through this coalition effort, America’s seniors and taxpayers have had enough of Washington’s wasteful spending. Congress must “immediately and publicly express [its] unconditional opposition to extending the expanded Obamacare subsidies, irrespective of what month it is or of the proximity to their expiration.”
The American people deserve real healthcare freedom—not another round of corporate welfare disguised as compassion.
Shane Harris is the Editor in Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
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