Nearly 6 in 10 Republicans — including 57% of Make America Great Again supporters — are in favor of extending the Obamacare subsidies, according to a new survey published Friday by the nonpartisan KFF.
Overall, 78% of those surveyed say they want Congress to continue enhanced tax credits for low- and moderate-income Americans buying health coverage through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace, according to KFF's health tracking poll.
"There is a hot debate in Washington about the looming ACA premium hikes, but our poll shows that most people in the marketplaces don't know about them yet and are in for a shock when they learn about them in November," KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said.
The subsidies have been thrust into the shutdown debate by Democrats as validation for not voting on the House-led continuing resolution. Republicans say that is disingenuous given that the subsidies don't expire until Dec. 31.
"They're trying to make this Obamacare subsidy issue the issue of today — it's not," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Newsmax earlier this week. "That doesn't even expire until Dec. 31. That's an eternity in politics for us to roll up our sleeves and argue and debate."
"But they're looking in the cameras and lying about it," he added.
According to the KFF poll, though, Democrats have brought awareness to the issue.
A little more than 60% of adults said that prior to the government shutting down Tuesday, they had heard "a little" or "nothing at all" about the expiring enhanced premium tax credits for ACA purchasers, according to the survey.
About half of Democrats said they had heard "some" about the subsidies, compared to 35% of independents and 34% of Republicans, the poll said.
Among those favoring an extension of the enhanced tax credits, 39% said President Donald Trump would be most to blame if they expire, 37% pointed to congressional Republicans, and 22% cited Democrats in Congress.
As for the cost of insurance, KFF analysis found that premiums would jump 114% if the ACA subsidies were allowed to expire, from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 next year.
Under that scenario, a 42% plurality said they would go without health insurance, with 37% saying they would continue to pay for it. Another 22% said they would seek health insurance from another source, according to the poll
KFF surveyed 1,334 adults from Sept. 23-29. The poll has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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