Capitol Hill reporter Manu Raju warned that things are going to get “really bad” for the GOP in 2026 as household costs, especially health insurance, jump just in time for the midterms.
On CNN’s Inside Politics, host Dana Bash walked viewers through new figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation showing how bad next year could be if Congress lets enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of 2025. KFF estimates that average yearly premium payments for marketplace plans would more than double, from about $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, a 114 percent jump if the extra help lapses.
Raju said what Republicans already hear back home but often dodge on camera, that “this is just been the issue that has dogged Republicans for what now? Fifteen years? What to do about health care?” He added that 2026 could be brutal politically if voters are hit with big premium hikes and do not see a clear plan from the party in power.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in the country, has been unusually blunt. His suburban district north of Philadelphia voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, and he has warned colleagues that “affordability is such a crisis in this country right now,” listing everything from housing to food and health care.
Fitzpatrick stated that letting the ACA subsidies die is “not an option,” and he has been pushing fellow Republicans to either back an extension or present something concrete of their own.
However, if what they pay in premiums increases significantly, many of those who purchase insurance through the ACA Marketplace would likely make changes to their current coverage.https://t.co/O2cBLPi3a2 pic.twitter.com/4JOI1b7BCH
— KFF (@KFF) December 5, 2025
As Raju explained, Republicans are still torn between those who want to lean on the private market and those flirting with new subsidy schemes, including Donald Trump’s musings about sending aid “directly to the American public.” That pitch, Raju noted, does not have wide backing inside the party, even as voters say they just want premiums they can actually pay.
On the Senate side, moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine is working with conservative Sen. Bernie Moreno on a plan to extend the enhanced subsidies for a limited time, but their talks have not yet produced a bill that can unify Republicans, let alone reach 60 votes.
GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, one of 3 Rs in Harris district, warns his party on affordability and health care.
Says of GOP attacks on ACA.
“They have never offered a better alternative,” he says of Rs.
More from a Republican in a battleground district on @InsidePolitics Sunday pic.twitter.com/hNuDkE11Hn
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 6, 2025
KFF’s analysis finds that without the enhanced tax credits, subsidized enrollees would see average premium payments jump by about $1,016 a year, with some families facing far steeper hikes depending on where they live and how old they are. Insurers are already proposing some of the largest rate increases since 2018.
A recent Politico poll found that 46 percent of Americans say the cost of living is the worst they can remember, and 46 percent also say Trump is responsible for today’s high prices, a warning sign for a party that wants to run on economic management.
