With less than three weeks left before the U.S. Affordable Care Act enrollment deadline, Republican lawmakers are renewing their push to replace the Biden-era enhanced Obamacare tax credits with alternative subsidy models they say would be more cost-efficient and less distortionary. The proposals revive a long-running partisan battle over how millions of Americans receive help paying for health insurance.

Republicans argue the current enhanced tax credits, which were expanded under pandemic-era relief and extended in later budget deals, have inflated federal spending and encouraged insurers to raise premiums at the government’s expense. Their new framework would scale back the enhanced subsidies, restructure how low-income enrollees receive support, and shift incentives toward private-market alternatives. GOP lawmakers say the plan would still maintain access but with greater fiscal restraint.

Democrats counter that Republicans are pushing changes at the most destabilising moment, warning that rolling back subsidies would drive up out-of-pocket costs for millions and potentially push lower-income Americans out of the market entirely. They note that the enhanced credits have helped drive record enrollment, with more than 21 million people signing up for ACA plans last year.

The timing adds pressure. Insurers and state exchanges are already well into the enrollment cycle, and any signal of subsidy contraction could create uncertainty for consumers trying to calculate their premiums for 2026. Health-policy analysts say the GOP proposals are unlikely to advance immediately, but they could shape negotiations if Congress reopens budget talks in December.

For now, the political clash underscores a familiar divide. Democrats view expanded federal assistance as essential to making coverage affordable, while Republicans insist the government is overspending and distorting the market. As the deadline approaches, Americans navigating Healthcare.gov are caught in the middle of a policy fight that has defined the U.S. health-care landscape for more than a decade.