GOP Divided Over Whether to Scrap or Reform Obamacare Before Subsidy Deadline

Republicans are facing a defining moment on Obamacare as COVID-era subsidies are set to expire and deep divisions within the party are beginning to show.

While most agree the Affordable Care Act has failed to deliver on affordability, the question now is: Should Republicans try to salvage the broken system or finally replace it with something better?

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) didn’t mince words “Obamacare is a failure. That much is very clear. If we stay on this path, we will bankrupt the country.”

Fine is one of several voices warning that subsidizing sky-high premiums with borrowed taxpayer dollars is not healthcare reform it’s deception.

But others in the party are urging caution.

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) said she doubts the system can be fully dismantled and replaced at this stage, citing the need for “stability and certainty in the market.” Similarly, Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-UT) acknowledged flaws in the program but said flatly, “It’s not going away anytime soon.”

This internal GOP debate is heating up as a critical subsidy deadline looms. Pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies temporarily expanded under Biden’s bloated emergency spending spree are set to expire this month. Democrats want to extend them, while some Republicans argue it’s time to return to pre-COVID spending levels.

Letting the subsidies expire could mean higher premiums for up to 90% of the 24 million Americans on Obamacare. Democrats call it cruel. Fiscal conservatives call it reality.

The Committee on a Responsible Federal Budget estimates keeping the subsidies would cost $30 billion per year with zero structural reform to the ACA.

Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) isn’t interested in tinkering. He believes the only real path forward is offering a superior alternative not fixing a broken one:

“We can’t be tinkering around the edges here. I think we need to do a new option… and it’ll be so great no one will want to be in Obamacare anymore.”

That’s the conservative vision that works: empower patients, lower costs, and restore choice, not government dependency.

But reality in the Senate is another story. With just 53 Republican seats, even the best GOP replacement plan would require 60 votes to clear the filibuster and Democrats have no incentive to cooperate.

That’s why Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) is urging Republicans to focus on competition and transparency rather than overhaul:

“When insurance and government get involved, it becomes more expensive by design. Just look at LASIK eye surgery it’s stayed affordable because it's not buried under layers of regulation.”

McCormick points to real-world examples where free-market pressure keeps prices low proof that more government involvement leads to higher prices, not better care.

At its core, the Republican divide boils down to strategy not values. The GOP agrees that Obamacare is a bloated failure. The question is how to bring real reform without handing Democrats a political weapon in the process.

Whether through market-based alternatives, expanded consumer choice, or even full repeal, one thing is certain: Obamacare is not sustainable.

Republicans must decide whether they want to manage the ACA’s decline or lead the way in replacing it with something that actually works.

Share this article or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest on the battle to restore sanity to American healthcare.