Republicans Have Never Been a Fan of the Affordable Care Act — Here's Why

You’ve probably realized by now that Republicans aren’t exactly the biggest fans of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or as most people know it, Obamacare. Passed into law under President Barack Obama in 2010, the ACA provides subsidies (aka financial help) to help Americans, especially those with lower incomes, afford health insurance coverage. It does this by factoring in both income and household size to determine how much someone should pay for their plan. Seems fair, right?

Maybe to some, but not to Republicans. The party has long opposed the ACA and its subsidies. In fact, these subsidies have become the focal point of the second-largest government shutdown in U.S. history, as Democrats fight to protect them before they expire at the end of December 2025, while Republicans push to scale them back. So, what is it about the ACA that Republicans just don’t like?

Republicans don’t like the ACA because they see it as too costly to the government and disapprove of the role it gives the government in healthcare, arguing it gives it too much control. For starters, the ACA requires that all Americans have health insurance coverage, otherwise, they risk facing a financial penalty at tax time, according to the IRS. And Republicans don’t like that.

Honestly, some people don’t like it either, because to some, it feels like the government is literally reaching into their pockets and taking money just because it’s the law to have health insurance.

That’s one reason. Another is that Republicans don’t like how the government oversees the entire ACA system, deciding what plans must include, what limits exist, and what restrictions apply.

And while it might seem fair for the government to take on that role, since it pours billions of dollars into the subsidies provided under the ACA to make healthcare more affordable, many people, including Republicans, don’t trust the government to hold that much power over something as important as healthcare, per an article published in the National Library of Medicine.

Simply put, Republicans don’t like the ACA because they believe it’s too expensive, gives the government too much power, and forces mandates they don’t agree with. Beyond that, many also believe it’s just not working. In fact, House Speaker Mike Johnson literally told NBC’s Meet the Press, per PBS, “Obamacare is not working.”

Still, within the first year of being implemented, the ACA helped 10 million people gain health insurance, according to the National Library of Medicine, and today, over 24 million Americans receive coverage through it. Could part of that be because of the mandate and penalty? Maybe. But overall, the ACA has helped millions of people get healthcare coverage at a price they likely couldn’t have afforded on their own.

While many in the party believe the ACA is too costly and still not working, as many Americans continue to complain about rising healthcare costs, Republican leader Mike Johnson insists they are really just trying to “fix it.” However, the issue is that the ACA subsidies are set to expire at the end of December 2025, which means healthcare costs could skyrocket for millions if Congress doesn’t step in to renew or replace them.