Posted on 12/16/2025 5:30:02 AM PST by MtnClimber
While members of the U.S. Senate continue to battle over whether to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies just days before they expire, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is sharing some harsh truths.
Johnson, in a post on X, recalled how Democrats sold the ACA to the American people as a form of relief that would lower their health care premium costs but instead has raised those premium costs 3 times faster than the the rate of inflation.
The Speaker shared a chart showing how, since 2014, premium costs on the ACA exchange have risen twice as fast as the average employer-based individual plan premium.
Johnson wrote, “It is without question that the Unaffordable Care Act has failed the American people” and stated that Republicans are working to fix the Democrat’s mess.
Earlier this month, a report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) exposed waste, fraud and abuse throughout the ACA marketplace, including the wasting of tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money and causing consumer harm.
The GAO report uncovered what it calls, “large-scale systemic failures that allow fake identities, dead people, and massive improper use of Social Security numbers to receive Obamacare subsidies.”
As part of of its investigation, the GAO conducted covert operations by creating fictitious identities using fake or never-issued Social Security numbers that flooded insurers with with unjustified subsidies, which were approved anyway by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The report states: “In fact, 100 percent of fake applicants were approved by the ACA Marketplace as recently as late 2024, and 90 percent of fake applicants continue to receive coverage in 2025.”
The GAO report includes estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and independent external research organizations that show taxpayers may be paying for up to $27 billion a year in improper payments for millions of improperly enrolled individuals in the ACA marketplace.
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) who chairs the House Committee on the Judiciary, said in a statement:
This new report confirms what we already knew: under Obamacare, hardworking Americans saw their premiums skyrocket and their healthcare choices shrink, all while fraud benefitted insurance companies. Obamacare was built on lies and broken promises that hurt families and drove up costs.
A bipartisan group of senators met Monday night to push for an extension of the ACA tax credits but, so far, the House of Representatives has held firm against extending those subsidies.
But you haven’t repealed it, so STFU!
0care is not getting repealed and replaced. Speaker Johnson said on Fox news it was too “deeply ingrained” to rip it out from the roots like he wishes he could. Sure Mike.
https://youtu.be/Rll_o4tKydk?si=tWN-fhsLV6xz1SDY
The Senate has unmovable entrenched RINOs. They are the root cause of much of our trouble. Problem is they have 6 year terms to block saving America from ruin.
There are a few good ones. But not enough obviously.
The House needs a cleaning but finding people who don’t sell out to get rich is very difficult.
I believe most have lost the idea that they were elected to represent The People. They get in there and quickly start thinking it is about what they want and what they can get from lobbyists.
Obamacare was quite successful with its major goal, i.e., destruction of the American health care system.
OUCH!!
Do tell.
If things keep going the way they are those entrenched senators will be removed. Just not in the way they are thinking. The house of cards is starting to fall apart.
I guess they are assuming they will lose the mid terms so they are trying to bring back that lie again. They will do nothing now, then in 2027 they will whine that they need to get voted in to make changes to Obamacare. It's all the same stuff that we saw in Trump's first term.
Insurance went from $350 to $1650. Almost went bankrupt trying to pay the premium
Had to finally give it up at a time I needed it, and had 2 strokes, one just 2 weeks before Medicare kicked in.
My brother tried to keep the business going, but our sons had to get jobs with Insurance they could afford.
50 years in business ended
The very Cuban and very Republican city of Hialeah (not far from me) has the highest density of Obamacare subscribers in the country.
Without a replacement, the expected bump in Democrat prospects for the midterms will become a tsunami.
#republican_party=controlled_opposition
When Coke made a mistake in coming out with “new coke”
When Cracker Barrel made a mistake....
When many corporations and individuals make mistakes
They admit their mistake and try to move forward.
Obamacare is a mistake...so obvious to everyone.
But is any politician willing to admit that politicians made a mistake? No. It seems like they try every way to avoid saying “The government made a mistake” or “Congress and the President made a mistake.”
The federal taxpayer share of the premium increased gradually from 68 percent of the premium in 2014 to nearly 80 percent in 2020. As a result of the COVID credits, the federal taxpayer share of the premium reached 93 percent from 2021 through 2025. Next year, when the COVID credits expire, the federal share will exceed 80 percent. Because enrollees pay only a small slice of the premium, insurers face virtually no price discipline—giving them incentives to inflate costs rather than improve value.
A Florida executive pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to submit fraudulent applications to enroll consumers in Affordable Care Act insurance plans (ACA plans) that were fully subsidized by the government. The purpose of the scheme was to obtain millions of dollars in commission payments from the insurance company that operated the ACA plans.
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