LaLota Joins Bipartisan Effort to Pass ACA Extension to the Senate Under Deadline
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Nick LaLota (NY-01) issued the following statement after voting today for H.R. 1834 and also voting to advance the bill to the Senate. The legislation provides a clean three-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, with no additional reforms or changes to the program. Rep. LaLota is one of 17 Republicans who voted to advance the measure following the December 31, 2025 expiration of the enhanced ACA premium tax credits for the 2025 plan year.
“While the ACA is deeply flawed, I voted to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits for three years to help the nearly 50,000 constituents who rely on them and to give momentum to a bipartisan group of Senators working toward a better solution—one that preserves targeted relief, reinstates income caps, and finally cracks down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the program,” said Rep. LaLota.
Background:
The Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits were first implemented in 2014 to help individuals and families without employer-sponsored insurance afford coverage purchased through the ACA marketplaces. These credits lower monthly premiums upfront and are calculated based on a consumer's household income and the cost of coverage in their local market. Under the original ACA structure, eligibility for premium assistance was capped at 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), creating a sharp “cliff” where families earning even one dollar above that threshold lost all subsidy support.
In response to rising healthcare costs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress temporarily enhanced the premium tax credits through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and later extended those enhancements through the Inflation Reduction Act. These changes increased the size of subsidies for lower- and middle-income enrollees, eliminated the 400 percent FPL cliff, and capped the amount any household would pay for benchmark coverage at roughly 8.5 percent of income, regardless of earnings. As a result, millions of Americans, particularly middle-income families, older workers, and small-business owners in high-cost regions, saw significant reductions in their monthly premiums.
These enhanced premium tax credits expired on December 31, 2025. Allowing them to lapse does not address flaws of the ACA system, nor does it reduce healthcare costs in a sustainable way. Instead, it triggers a return of the 400% FPL cliff, causing abrupt spikes in healthcare premiums for millions of Americans. These patient populations already shoulder some of the highest insurance costs in the country.
Make no mistake, this subsidy structure is inefficient and costly. The Congressional Budget Office estimates a permanent extension of the premium tax credit structure would add $350 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years alone. Additionally, the system relies on funneling federal dollars through insurance companies rather than directly to American families. Reforms are needed, and several bipartisan proposals have been introduced seeking them. However, the fact remains that the expiration of these credits amounts to a sudden tax hike for hard-working Americans. In high-cost regions like Long Island, where incomes often exceed outdated eligibility thresholds but premiums remain unaffordable, inaction would force many families to pay far more for their coverage or lose it altogether. A three-year clean extension prevents immediate harm to families, while giving Congress time to pursue serious, cost-reducing reforms that put patients, not insurers, first.