WASHINGTON, DC — Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today applauded the Republican Senators who voted to block Senator Chuck Schumer’s proposal to extend the COVID-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies—an expensive, insurer‑ centric scheme that failed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
AFP also applauds Senators Crapo and Cassidy for providing a bold and thoughtful patient-focused alternative that redirected funds toward Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) instead of insurance companies. New polling shows voters overwhelmingly agree with that approach. We are encouraged that, despite being blocked in today’s vote, the Cassidy-Crapo HSA alternative won the support of a majority of the Senate.
“For Senator Schumer, this was always about politics—never about lowering costs for patients,” said Lauren Stewart, AFP Senior Federal Affairs Liaison. “For three months he has turned Americans’ health care into a partisan battlefield, demanding billions more for insurance companies while dismissing common‑sense reforms that would put people in charge of their own health care. We’re grateful to the Republican Senators who stood up to this political shakedown and said ‘no’ to subsidizing a broken system. Keep pushing for solutions that fund patients, not insurers—expand HSAs, strengthen transparency, and empower families to choose care that fits their needs.”
Despite the political theater, Americans are clear about what they want. AFP’s new national survey (Dec. 5–10, 2025) conducted by Public Opinion Strategies shows 80% of voters support directing financial assistance to individuals, not insurers; more than 8 in 10 want HSAs available to all Americans and usable for the coverage and care options they choose. Lawmakers have a mandate to pivot from insurer subsidies to patient owned, tax advantaged accounts and personalized care.
“ACA subsidies have failed to make care affordable and too often fuel waste, fraud, and insurer windfalls,” said Dean Clancy, AFP Senior Health Policy Fellow. “Enrollment spikes and headline numbers mask a growing problem of ‘phantom enrollees’ and lax verification—translating into billions in improper payments and little value for patients.”
“A better path is to fund patients directly: universal access to HSAs, transparent prices, and personalized options like Direct Primary Care. These reforms reduce costs, expand choice, and put families—not bureaucrats or insurance companies—in control. Congress should let the temporary COVID expansions end and replace them with patient ‑powered solutions that actually promote affordability,” continued Clancy.
AFP calls on Senators to double down on patient‑ focused reforms that fund people directly and restore choice, control, and affordability—including expanding HSA access, promoting price transparency, enabling Direct Primary Care, and tackling waste, fraud, and abuse in the current system.
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