Both of Texas’ U.S. senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, voted against a Senate bill extending subsidies for healthcare covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), putting the healthcare of millions in jeopardy starting Jan. 1.
Subsidies under the ACA — also known as “Obamacare” — are set to expire at the end of this year without government action. If that happens, premium payments would rise drastically for 22 million Americans, including 4 million in Texas, who benefit from the ACA.
Without those enhanced tax credits, the KFF projects premiums will increase an average of 114%, from $888 to $1,904 per month.
Democrats have been pushing to extend those subsidies to prevent healthcare costs for Americans from doubling, or worse.
Republicans seem somewhat divided on the issue. Conservatives seem intent to excise something with Obama’s name on it (colloquially, anyway) while moderates call it political suicide for the party to make healthcare unaffordable for millions, including many in the GOP’s base.
Republican split
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Josh Hawley of Missouri broke rank to vote for a three-year extension of the subsidies. Even so, that bill, introduced Thursday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, failed to meet the 60-vote threshold to move forward.
Instead of extending the subsidies, late Friday, Republicans put forward their own healthcare plan excluding extension of ACA credits while purporting to lower premiums anyway. The reality may look a little different.
The bill, dubbed the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act,” will appropriate funds for “cost-sharing reductions” in ObamaCare — a move that will, in fact, lower premiums for some people and raise them for others. This provision, originally included in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was removed for violating Senate rules.
That provision alone is expected to cause hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their healthcare coverage, The Hill reports.
The bill also contains another provision to allow businesses to offer their own healthcare plans to employees while protecting them from large claims.
Cornyn, who is running for reelection in 2026, tried to justify his vote against extending ACA subsidies in Sunday morning post arguing fraud is widespread under the existing program.
“The Government Accountability Office identified at least 30,000 Obamacare applications in 2023 and 160,000 in 2024 that had likely unauthorized changes by agents or brokers,'” the senator wrote on X in the caption while sharing a Dec. 7 Opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal called “Obamacare is a Mecca for fraud.”
The conveniently timed opinion piece was penned by the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which is led by Editorial Page Editor and San Antonio-born conservative columnist Paul Gigot. The WSJ’s Republican editorial board also includes former members of the Reagan and George W. Bush administration. The Wall Street Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s parent company NewsCorp, which also owns Fox News.
DNC ads
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) seized on Cornyn’s vote to run a targeted ad campaign pointing out that Texans will bear the brunt if the ACA crater. The targeted ads come as Cornyn faces a tough primary season against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s vying for his seat.
Cruz — who once said “No one is more committed to ending Obamacare than I am” — has long set his sights on attacking the healthcare marketplace program. Never mind that Texas is already the least insured state in the nation with an uninsured rate of nearly 19%.
Cruz proffered his own alternative to extending ACA enhanced credits, with his Competition and Openness in Markets to Promote Efficiency, Transparency, and Enhanced Affordability (COMPETE) Act in partnership with co-author Ted Budd (R-N.C.). The pair’s bill would create short-term coverage for specific maladies a la carte rather than comprehensive general coverage.
“Obamacare reduced health insurance options and caused premiums to skyrocket,” Cruz wrote in a statement on his website. “This legislation will promote more competition, provide consumers with more choices, and allow Americans to choose the healthcare coverage that fits their needs and budgets. I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation expeditiously.”
Dec. 15 is the last day for ACA open enrollment.
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