But Democrats are cheering.
No Appetite for Subsidies
Please note, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says most House Republicans don’t have appetite for extending expiring ACA subsidies .
The Wall Street Journal reports Speaker Johnson Warns White House GOP Is Wary of Trump’s Healthcare Push
Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) cautioned the White House that most House Republicans don’t have an appetite for extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, according to people familiar with the matter, showing how hard it will be politically to stave off sharp increases in healthcare costs next year for many Americans.
The message from Johnson, in a phone call with administration officials, came as President Trump’s advisers were drafting a healthcare plan that extended the subsidies for two years.
The warning underscores the hurdles facing any deal in coming weeks. Lawmakers have a mid-December deadline for healthcare votes promised as a condition for Democrats voting to end the government shutdown earlier this month. The enhanced subsidies expire at the end of the year, affecting more than 20 million people who benefit from the tax credits.
The emerging White House plan would extend the subsidies temporarily, while imposing income caps for ACA enrollees to qualify, as well as measures to crack down on healthcare fraud, according to people familiar with the matter. Several Republicans want to pair the subsidy wind-down with the creation of health savings accounts, an approach Trump has praised.
Potential details of the Trump plan were reported by media outlets Sunday night and Monday morning before rank-and-file Republicans were briefed. The reports in MS NOW and Politico prompted a flurry of activity by lawmakers and healthcare lobbyists.
That’s OK Because Democrats Cheer
Extending the subsidies for two years could win backing from centrist Democrats, who have been lobbying for a compromise that avoids a big price spike for households. Some cheered the news reports about Trump’s plans.
“If the reports are true and the president is considering coming to the table in good faith, I believe we can find a path forward that can earn broad bipartisan support in Congress,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.).
Democrats are eager to take on the healthcare fight ahead of the midterm elections next year, as polls frequently show that voters trust them on the issue. Senate Democrats repeatedly blocked a stopgap government spending bill, leading to the government shutdown, over demands that Republicans join them in extending the enhanced subsidies.
Sweeteners the Key
If Trump throws in enough sweeteners, he can easily pass whatever he wants with a bipartisan Democrat majority.
To appease Republicans, he can simultaneously go along with sending out free money as some Republicans want to do.
This is precisely what I warned about on November 7, but I got pushback from MAGA corners.
To refresh your memory, please consider November 7, 2025 MishTalk Democrats Offer a One-Year Obamacare Extension Deal. Should Republicans Accept?
Republicans would be crazy not to accept this offer. It’s just one year. And they can block further extensions easily.
Paul Krugman Is Very Upset with the Government Deal. Should Democrats Moan?
On November 11, I commented Paul Krugman Is Very Upset with the Government Deal. Should Democrats Moan?
Is Krugman Right About Everything? Anything?
Paul Krugman is right that Republicans (for the benefit of Republicans) should have taken the deal.
He fails to understand Trump offered something much better than a one-year extension. And that offer, IF it happens, will be extremely costly.
Trump hopped on a proposal to send free money to people instead of paying their insurance.
Trump Embraces Universal Basic Income
Trump on Truth Social: I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over. In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare. Unrelated, we must still terminate the Filibuster!
Sending money directly to the people is the start of Universal Basic Income (UBI).
Once UBI starts neither party will be able to stop it.
In return for a measly, $35 billion extension, Republicans offered what essentially boils down to UBI.
This morning, I noted Trump Ponders a Two-Year Extension of Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies
Accepting a one-year extension that Democrats wanted would have cost $35 billion.
Any guesses what the outcome of this new deal will cost?
It’s very possible we end up with UBI and extended subsidies to satisfy everyone.
I await the final product and the final math.
And in case you have not figured this out, Trump’s $2,000 tariff rebate proposal is another massive wealth redistribution UBI scheme that destroys small businesses in the wake.
For discussion, please see Trump Labels Those Against Tariffs as “Fools”, Proposes $2,000 to Everyone
Is this what you voted for?
ALL Obamacare subsidies need to be eliminated. Everyone needs to pay for their own healthcare (premium, deductible and copays).Limits on health savings accounts should be significantly increased so responsible people will save for this.
OK, let’s cut to the chase here: NOTHING is being mentioned about the EGREGIOUS COSTS of the Health Care “Industry” and because of constant Lobbying (BRIBERY), Congress never utters one word about the REAL PROBLEM: Healthcare industry and its participants are run FOR PROFIT.
Here in the EU, Health Care is not a profit center but run as support for the people. Instead of spending money ON PRES Z, Ukraine, Palestine, and now Venezuela Wars, the money is re-directed to helping the PEOPLE get treatments and support.
America the beautiful! The Greatest Nation on earth and people can go broke in the USA due to the soaring costs of healthcare alone. TOP that off with egregious Premiums for every type of insurance, and then Property Taxes, and Tolls, and Income taxes and on and on and people are broken.
Once apon a time the liberals here in the US braged about the fabulous government provided health care in Socialist Venezuela and Cuba (Cuba got lots of help from Venezuela). It is easy to complain about how expensive health care is in the US.
Having the system taken over by our bankrupt federal government won’t cure the problem. Last time I checked the EU governments were at least as bankrupt as we are. Changing horses isn’t the answer. If there is one.
Having our healthcare system taken over by the Federal government will cure the problem.
Where are the Russian bots when we really need their opinions? Surely, health care in Russia is much better than in Ukraine.
I assume it is, since GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis is almost 2.5 times higher in Russia (per Wiki).
Absent horrific war, life expectancy in Ukraine has been better than Russia for a while. Maybe it’s the vodka?
Speaker Johnson is not happy because the media found out about the plan before Congress did.
This is how his loyalty is repaid? /s
Speaker Johnson should be on Hollywood Squares, between Paul Lynd and Charles Nelson Riley.
Johnson has 5 kids. Put him next to George Gobel.
How about “Truth or Consequences?”
OR, “Laugh In?”
Health insurance is not rocket science. The other 3 dozen OECD countries have figured it out. There are 3 models – Beveridge, Bismarck and NHI (National Health Insurance). You can choose one of these or craft some kind of hybrid model out of those.
Or, we can continue to have the Crazy Quilt YOYO (You’re On Your Own) model that we do now.
Yep. That would be the right approach. Select the best ideas from places where things work. The system that would probably most fit American sensibilities would be a modified Bismarck style system with greater private involvement, perhaps in the style of the Netherlands or Israeli healthcare systems.
In any case, there are many good universal healthcare examples to draw from.
The current US system is based on a historical accident the result of WWII wage controls rather than a well-thought-out process.
Agree 100%….every OECD country spends much less than the US on healthcare early only half or a third yet achieve better heal care outcomes. Pissing away trillions on insurance companies and waaaaay overpaid doctors, and inflating costs through exhaustive and wasteful medical testing for trivial illness is the biggest confab ever.
If you want to go to a surgeon named Gomer Pyle, have fun. I prefer one who commands right around high six to seven figures.
Have you found any Gomer Pyle surgeons in Germany, Japan or France? You haven’t of course. So just STFU please!
Meanwhile, the Donald opened the door to bail out AI and crypto outfits. That should entice the GOP swamp creatures.
Simple solution –
No Plutocracy. They are serving themselves.
Democratic Socialism. That’s it. Serving for all.
I would be ashamed to be a card carrying Republican. To me, that would be like claiming membership in the idiot club. If the leadership tried to be incompetent it wouldn’t fail as badly as it actually does.
To recap, Trump begins his term by burning political capital on DOGE, only to fire Musk and have DOGE expire. Trump then burns more political capital on illegal tariffs only to capitulate when those tariffs cause economic ruin. And so after 10 months of his 2nd term of office, Trump has NOTHING except to rubber stamp the Obama / Biden budget.
There has been no remedy to the disastrous health care system and no remedy to massive deficits.
It’s as if Trump began his second term just as he ended his first term – a captive prisoner to the establishment system. What a joke.
Hard to clean the swamp, when you are the swamp. And can we call him a communist yet – he is flirting with it. But on a positive thought he has stopped 100s of wars….and will definitely win the peace prize – lol.
Not captive, just a failure. As you said he burned his political capital on silly things that don’t achieve anything. He had and has the majority in both chambers of congres. But just like in his first term he can’t do anything with that. Because Trump is great at one thing: destruction and creating chaos. But he’s terrible at building anything constructive. Ironically the only constructive achievement he has made was Operation Warp Speed, which generated effective vaccines against Covid in very little time. And that is the one thing his base does not like.
If the Dems could stop transing children, they could make some headway. They can’t stop, though.
The republican answer of private ins with different levels of coverage would only make you feel better that you have ins. A major issue and your bills will still bankrupt the average American. Ive had those policies before.
Trumps 2000 dollar give away wont do anything for premiums. Ins. Companies are not gonna lower cost for the average schmo who shops around. Ive had aca before and received none or very little credit due to income. I at least felt like i had someone trying to keep my cost low.
Has anyone noticed. In general republican politicians have an issue with targeted aid to the masses on the lower end. Here instead of affordability of ins for lower income becomes a 2000 dollar aid to everyone but the wealthy.
Same same with the push for tax money for public schools to go to home school/ private schools etc.
not saying its right or wrong just more of an observation. Maybe for middle class rep voters.
Before you go they pay property taxes to. There are a lot of people out there who never had kids and pay property taxes to send other peoples kids to school.
. .
Here is one alternative;
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231949
Alternative 2 is Medicare for all paid for with a 20% VAT. This also solves the tariff problem with those countries that have VATs of their own.
Denninger’s ideas with respect to healthcare are not workable because people don’t shop for medical services as if they are buying gasoline. That’s why there is no developed nation that has implemented anything like what he proposes.
Yeah, No posted prices before the fact / mugging.
Yes, some medical decisions are made under duress. Maybe we should all pay for those heart attacks, traffic accidents, etc. But what about the rest? People DO have time to shop around and look for cost-effective options.
Been a long time since I read Denninger. But IIRC he said we could fix most of Medicare by declining treatment for conditions, like diabetes type 2, stemming from lifestyle factors. Why should people who invest an hour a day on cardio pay for people who don’t get off the couch and choose junk food?
Completely unworkable
You have a population. The cheapest way is everybody plays; everybody pays. No outs. Period. All else? Really bad healthcare at a big price.
There would have to be a transition. And it could be painful…But on the other hand they are monopolies that Trump could take on – if he really wanted. But you cannot clean the swamp, when you are part of it.
Eh i say Follow the money. Lobbyist / citizen united
Denninger is a hysterical clown. His blog reads like a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap.
The interesting thing about US health care is that its costs barely register in the CPI. In a counterfactual world where all health care costs would be included in the CPI, the “affordability crisis” would become much more visible (about 55 percent of the CPI would just be housing and health care). And politicans might actually do something useful about the problem.
And because the true cost of inflation is hidden from government reporting, the sheeple don’t understand why they can’t make ends meet. The narratives then get told that it’s “illegals” stealing your job, getting free housing, free healthcare and all sorts of other free goodies and bringing in all the drugs.
But then the border becomes “secure” and millions are deported yet the problems with housing, insurance, food costs and drugs continue to balloon out of control.
Now the sheeple are slowly waking up to a whole new reality but it’s too late and the death spiral has begun…..
D –
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?blog=Market-Ticker-Nad
Trump is a lame duck President at this point and deteriorating rapidly health wise so when is the GOP going to put on their big boy pants and start working for the American people and leave the clown behind?
The uniparty will never do anything good.
Right after the midterms.
No Russian Troll comments on US healthcare needs? Its an important political issue, you idiots, that could determine the 2026 election outcomes and a continuation of Russian support. Wake up, start posting some influencing comments or I see Siberia in your immediate FSB-directed futures. Ukraine ‘has caved’ to the new Rubio compromise peace agreement. Maybe our president will do a 180 and provide cruise munitions, if the Kremlin doesn’t approve the flawed capitulation agreement. The new generation of US-Ukraine joint produced super-stealth drones, initiated in 2024, with a 95-99% penetration rate, will have a dramatic effect on domestic hydrocarbon production, transport, and the war economy. Start posting…
Will we be able to post on Facebook from Siberia? Or Canada’s frozen north if Trump invades? Thanks in advance for replying to my questions on the previous thread.
VIX has blasted down through its 200 and is now testing the 50 day average.
What say the fractals and how do I earn to interpret what you are saying?
Obamacare should be scrapped entirety; there is no provision for the US government to be providing healthcare or its insurance. Potentially a more politically expedient way to jettison it would be via a court challenge and let SCOTUS take the heat as they do not have to worry about re-election.
Didn’t the house just vote to condemn socialism and now proposing to entrench it even more? We will never reduce the debt with more spending proposals.
Health care around the world is far better and cheaper than in the US. The key is health insurance doesn’t exist in most of these places so medical service providers have to provide competitive healthcare.
Cheaper as relative to average income of its peoples or cheaper as an american traveling to get services done.
Both.
If they can come up with a better plan for healthcare then sure. Until then, there is no other choice right now besides Obamacare.
Extremely bad idea, but bad ideas are very popular now.
And how is a one-time $2000 check the gateway drug to UBI any more than Trump’s 1st term stimulus checks were? $2000 isn’t going to last long, hardly 2 months rent for a small apartment, only a few payments on that $90,000 F250 Super Duty King Ranch you financed, or the SxS or toy hauler.
Isn’t the $2000 just a refund of some of the tariff tax collected on imports that was passed along to the supply chain, some of which (the tax impact,) made it to end consumers as higher prices? Kind of a perpetual motion machine, “See, I’m raising so much from tariffs that I can send you a check with my name on it and maybe you won’t realize you’re getting your own money back.”
The money after transferred will likely be mostly spent contributing to GDP. It is a way for Trump to buy both votes and the greatest economy ever, a twofer! These politicians are doing what they must to get re-elected, nothing more and certainly nothing positive for the country if their re-election is jeopardized.
You might be missing the point. The money raised from tariffs would have been spent contributing to the GDP anyway only the Trump way is to pick the money out of your pocket and then give it back to you and you think he did you a favor.
It’s not some of it- it’s MORE than ALL of it!
Mike Johnson doesn’t want Trump plan but from what I’ve read in different articles this morning, there is a large number of Republican House members who would support it and it would easily pass with bipartisan support. Some Republicans members appear to be pretty perturbed at Johnson’s reaction given the upcoming midterms and the already very narrow margin Republicans hold in the house.
Mike Johnson: “House GOP is rabid about the idea we can cut off our arms to spite your face”
You had me at ‘Mike Johnson’.
Another “Epstein? Epstein who?”
What are they worried about? It’s just the concept of a plan.
This is what they are worried about….
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/25/mike-johnson-tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes-interview-00668135
With MTG bailing, RINOs rhining, and the rest of the motley crew mutinying or going full blown nazi, it’s nothing but trouble for GOP. I don’t even count Trump anymore, he’s a lame duck.
Mtg is bailing because know one likes death threats.
There WAS a country before da GOP.