I’ve been hearing the widespread complaints about the impending expiration of the extended Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits on December 31, 2025. Many Democrats in Congress are pushing the narrative that no family should have to choose between putting food on the table and purchasing medicine, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.
However, as a Republican, we must set the record straight: the current crisis surrounding these expiring subsidies is solely the making of the Democratic Party.
The Myth of the “Temporary” Subsidy
It’s a fact: Democrats, when they held the majority, voted in 2024 to end these extended, temporary subsidies. Now, they are attempting to shift the blame to Republicans for the looming expiration and their own failure to address the core problem: the ever-increasing costs of the ACA—a system that is anything but “affordable.”
Let’s remember the history. The ACA was passed by Democrats, led by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, without a single Republican vote in 2010. The promises made at the time by President Obama were starkly untrue:
- ”If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your doctor.”
- Families will save $2,500 per year.
These were lies. The costs of the ACA have risen substantially over the last 15 years, and the broken system remains unfixed. Now, the only solution Democrats offer is to simply extend the subsidies they themselves voted to expire. I reject this outright. We cannot solve a failure by repeatedly implementing the same failed solution.
A Real Solution: Empowering Individuals
We have a chance to implement meaningful fixes before January 1, 2026.
One compelling proposal is Senator Bill Cassidy’s plan: instead of funneling billions of dollars into bloated insurance agencies through these extended (or “COVID-era”) subsidies, we should redirect that money into pre-funded, flexible health care accounts that go directly to the individual American.
This would put the consumer—you—in direct control of your healthcare dollars, allowing you to make decisions based on your specific needs, rather than enriching insurance companies that are already prospering. It is high time we fix this massively failed system that is the fundamental reason costs continue to spiral upward.
🇺🇸 A Parallel Failure: The State of Veteran Healthcare 🇺🇸
The failure of the ACA is compounded when we look at a second critical area: Veteran healthcare.
Did you know that many Americans receiving care through the current system (including the ACA) often have better access to care than the brave men and women who served their country? As a 100% P/T rated veteran who retired honorably after 20 years in the US Army, I currently use the VA healthcare system, and I’ve hit a wall that illustrates this systemic problem.
My issue is a denial of targeted, FDA-approved weight loss medications, such as Wegovy or Zepbound. The VA’s current internal policy states that only veterans who are transplant or coronary patients are eligible for these drugs.
This is a perfect example of how set rules and internal policy upset the apple cart!
Think about this: How many people using the ACA are currently being prescribed these exact same weight loss drugs? My question is, if the average American citizen is being prescribed these targeted medications, why are veterans restricted to only coronary or transplant patients?
Imagine the outcry if an average ACA user was told, “No, you cannot be prescribed this medication because you are not a transplant patient.” It wouldn’t seem fair or right, would it?
I started this post agreeing that people shouldn’t have to choose between food and medicine. But veterans are often far more restricted than that.
Veteran healthcare has improved, but it has a very long way to go to catch up with the private sector. I have filed a complaint with my Congressman and the Patient Advocate regarding this restrictive policy.
IT IS WAY PAST TIME THAT OUR VETERANS ARE TAKEN BETTER CARE OF. Let’s stop kicking the can down the road with temporary fixes and begin to fix the fundamental flaws in our entire healthcare system—from rising costs to restricted and unfair policies.
What are your thoughts on Senator Cassidy’s proposal or the restrictions veterans face? Share your comments below.