Majority Leader | Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSR...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board12.11.25Republicans’ Plan to Lower Health Care Costs and Clean Up Democrats’ Fraudulent SystemRepublicans’ Health Care Freedom for Patients Act Lowers Health Care Costs by Giving Money Directly to the American People to Control Their Care Instead of Big Insurance Companies DEMOCRATS MADE HEALTH INSURANCE UNAFFORDABLE. SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE TAKING STEPS TO GET COSTS UNDER CONTROL WITH THE HEALTH CARE FREEDOM FOR PATIENTS ACT.“Giving billions of taxpayer dollars to insurers is not working to reduce health insurance premiums for patients. We need to give Americans more control over their own health care decisions. This bill builds on the work we did in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and will help Americans manage the rising cost of health care without driving costs even higher.” – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)“Instead of 100 percent of this money going to insurance companies, let’s give it to patients. By giving them an account that they control, we give them the power. We make health care affordable again.” – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.)“Senate Republicans will offer a health care plan for a vote Thursday alongside a Democratic proposal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.” (Politico: Senate Republicans set to put Cassidy-Crapo health proposal up for a vote Thursday – 12/9/25)Introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act:“Sends money to patients, not giant insurance companies” via Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Chairs Crapo, Cassidy Unveil Republican Bill to Make Health Care Affordable, Give Money Directly to Families – 12/8/25)“[W]ould give HSA funding to those earning less than 700 percent of the poverty level, $1,000 for people ages 18 to 49 and $1,500 for those 50 to 65.” (Politico: Cassidy, Crapo unveil alternative to Obamacare subsidies – 12/8/25)“Lowers insurance premiums by funding cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Chairs Crapo, Cassidy Unveil Republican Bill to Make Health Care Affordable, Give Money Directly to Families – 12/8/25)“Empowers Americans to choose the insurance plan that fits their needs by increasing access to low-cost catastrophic plans.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Chairs Crapo, Cassidy Unveil Republican Bill to Make Health Care Affordable, Give Money Directly to Families – 12/8/25)“Prevents illegal immigrants from accessing Medicaid by requiring states to verify citizenship and immigration status before coverage.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Chairs Crapo, Cassidy Unveil Republican Bill to Make Health Care Affordable, Give Money Directly to Families – 12/8/25)“Stops taxpayer dollars from funding gender transition services under Medicaid and excludes them as an essential health benefit for plans sold on the Obamacare exchanges.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Chairs Crapo, Cassidy Unveil Republican Bill to Make Health Care Affordable, Give Money Directly to Families – 12/8/25)FOR YEARS, DEMOCRATS HAVE SOLD THEIR HEALTH CARE SCHEMES AS AFFORDABLE – BUT IN REALITY THEY’VE LED TO CONSISTENTLY HIGHER PRICES, UNNECESSARY COSTS FOR TAXPAYERS, AND RAMPANT FRAUDDemocrats claimed that Obamacare was going to solve the issue of unaffordable health care in America:“This bill will cut health care costs, preserve Medicare, and reduce the federal deficit to boot. History will look back on this bill as the moment we turned things around in America.” – Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (11/19/09)“Who would have thought that we could finally get a handle on the thing that is driving our budget deficit to great heights, which is health care costs, and at the same time do so much good by covering so many people.” – Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (12/24/09)“[A]n historic bill that will finally reform our broken health care system and help millions of our families and small businesses get the coverage they need at a price they can afford.” – Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) (11/19/09)“And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.” – President Barack Obama (9/9/09)The reality is the cost of Obamacare premiums has increased twice as fast as employer-based premiums, both of which have outpaced the rate of inflation:(Paragon Health Institute: Obamacare Plan Premiums Have Increased Nearly 2x Faster than Employer-Based Premiums Since 2014 – accessed 12/11/25)As the cost of Obamacare premiums has increased, taxpayers have been on the hook for more and more money in federal subsidies:(Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: Understanding the ACA Subsidy Discussion – 11/5/25)According to the Congressional Budget Office, Democrats’ three-year extension of the Biden COVID bonuses will cost taxpayers $83 billion. A permanent extension would cost $335 billion over ten years. (Puck News’ Leigh Ann Caldwell: post on X – 12/10/25; KFF: Inflation Reduction Act Health Insurance Subsidies: What is Their Impact and What Would Happen if They Expire? – 7/26/24)Democrats’ Biden COVID bonuses have led to rampant fraud in the Obamacare exchange system:“The GAO [Government Accountability Office] last fall began an undercover test in which it submitted insurance applications for fictitious individuals to the federal ObamaCare exchange and insurance brokers. Nearly all of its invented people were able to enroll in subsidized plans despite submitting false or no records to verify their identities and incomes. Of GAO’s 24 applications, 23 were approved.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)“GAO also analyzed enrollment data in 2023 and 2024 for data anomalies. It found more than 29,000 Social Security numbers in 2023 and nearly 68,000 in 2024 that were used to receive more than one year’s worth of insurance coverage with subsidies in a single year—meaning the same Social Security number was used by more than one person.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)THE ONLY WINNERS IN DEMOCRATS’ PLAN TO EXTEND THE BIDEN COVID BONUSES ARE BIG HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES“Biden’s COVID credits go directly from the U.S. Treasury to health insurers and have led to many enrollees who don’t use the plan. Nearly 12 million enrollees had no claims in 2024. (This includes everyone who enrolled at any point during the year.):”(Paragon Health Institute: Why Biden’s COVID Credits Should Expire – 9/11/25)“[T]he number of zero-claim enrollees more than tripled from 2021 to 2024. For these enrollees, taxpayers sent insurers tens of billions of dollars—even though they received no care. Millions of these enrollees are ‘phantoms’—individuals who either have other coverage or are unaware they are enrolled.” (Paragon Health Institute: Why Biden’s COVID Credits Should Expire – 9/11/25)As a result, the Biden COVID bonuses have been a windfall for health insurance companies:“It seems clear that some brokers and insurers are taking advantage of a poorly designed system to line their pockets.”“The [Government Accountability Office] estimates that $21 billion was paid out, in 2023 alone, for enrollees who never confirmed that their subsidy matched their income.”“Since the expanded subsidies came into effect, the number of enrollees in the marketplace plans who make zero claims has soared. The number was stable between 3 million and 4 million before 2021 and increased to more than 11 million last year, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).”“35 percent of Obamacare marketplace plans had zero claims in 2024, up from below 20 percent before subsidies expanded.”“The most common fraud situation seems to be that people have been signed up for plans without their knowledge. They either don’t want insurance or already have coverage, but brokers signed them up for fully subsidized plans. Since the subsidies are transferred directly from the government to the insurance companies, the ‘customers’ might not even know it happened.” (The Washington Post: Editorial: What 24 fake applications prove about Obamacare subsidies – 12/9/25)PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
