January 14, 2026
Since our last update, there has been some promising action on restoring the enhanced premium tax credits for health care exchanges, including Pennsylvania’s Pennie.
After reading this, please use our online tool to tell Senators Fetterman and McCormick to support the bill that passed the House to extend the enhanced tax credits for three years.
• The enhanced ACA premium tax credits did expire as 2025 came to a close. Two thousand twenty-six premium assistance reverted to the pre-2021 formula and the resulting price increases are now being felt, especially by middle-income households who benefited from the enhanced subsidies (including those who were eligible above 400% of the federal poverty line under the temporary rules). While the premium tax credit itself does not disappear and families below 400% percent of the federal poverty line can still qualify, subsidy amounts are generally smaller, and many households will face higher monthly premiums. Many low-income households will lose access to zero-premium plans.[1]
• After House leadership did not advance a clean extension through the regular process, Democrats pursued a procedural workaround. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries filed a discharge petition on November 12, 2025, to discharge the House Rules Committee from considering H.Res. 780, the rule that would allow floor consideration of H.R. 1834. After enough members signed the petition to force action, the House voted. On January 8, 2026, the U.S. House passed a clean three-year extension to revive and extend the enhanced credits, 230–196, with 17 Republicans voting with Democrats. From Pennsylvania, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan, and Ryan Mackenzie voted yes, along with every Pennsylvania House Democrat. Pennsylvania Republicans John Joyce, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, Lloyd Smucker, and Glenn Thompson voted no.[2]
• The Senate is now the bottleneck. In December 2025, it failed to advance a clean three-year extension as it fell short of the 60-vote filibuster threshold). On that same day, the Senate also rejected a Republican alternative tied to expanding health savings accounts. We don’t think that the current House’s three-year clean extension is likely to pass. Recent reporting indicates that Senate talks are focused on a shorter extension paired with some policy changes. The framework most frequently described is a two-year extension with an upper-income cap, a small minimum premium, stronger anti-fraud provisions, and an option to route support through health savings accounts later. These talks have been publicly associated with Republican senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine.
1. Congress.gov, “Enhanced Premium Tax Credit and 2026 Exchange Premiums: Frequently Asked Questions,” January 13, 2026,https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48290.
2. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, “Discharge Petition No. 10 (119th Congress): Motion to Discharge the Committee on Rules from the Consideration of H.Res. 780,” filed November 12, 2025, accessed January 13, 2026, https://clerk.house.gov/DischargePetition/2025111210.