House bill extending health care credits heads to floor — but without support of any Florida Republican

A Democrat-sponsored petition is forcing a U.S. House vote on extending health care subsidies to the floor.

But no Republicans from Florida, the state with the most users benefiting from the tax credit, helped get it across the line. That’s despite U.S. Reps. Carlos Giménez and María Elvira Salazar favoring more modest compromises.

Ultimately, four House Republicans signed a discharge petition filed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. That forces a vote on extending pandemic-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for three years. All eight Democrats representing Florida in the House supported the petition.

All Republican signers — U.S. Reps. Robert Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan MacKenzie of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York — signed onto the effort a day after Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not allow any extension to reach the floor.

Of note, Giménez and Salazar had signed a petition Fitzpatrick separately filed seeking a shorter-term extension.

Salazar on Wednesday briefly posted about joining that petition.

“FL-27 has one of the highest numbers of families relying on the Affordable Care Act,” the Coral Gables Republican wrote. “That’s why I signed the discharge petition to force a vote to extend ACA subsidies, so health care costs don’t spike for working families. We can fight fraud, waste, and abuse without hurting people who depend on these plans.”

But Salazar deleted that post after Jeffries’ discharge petition reached a critical 218 signatures to force a long-term extension to the floor. She is one of four Florida Republicans being targeted in the 2026 Midterms by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Giménez had also signed a petition filed by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, seeking a short-term extension.

Neither has signaled whether they will support the three-year extension on the floor.

The Gottheimer petition was also signed by U.S. Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Darren Soto, Florida Democrats targeted this cycle by the National Republican Congressional Committee. But those Democrats also joined the Jeffries measure, along with every member of the House Democratic caucus.

“A New Hope for Healthcare!” posted Soto. “Now House Democrats’ bipartisan 3-Year ACA subsidies extension petition forces a vote. Mr. Speaker. It’s time to schedule that vote TODAY! Lower healthcare costs and #SaveObamacare.”

Without a vote, certain credits will expire at the end of the year, leading to increases in premiums paid by those consumers.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Florida has more users than any state in the union, about 4.7 million, benefiting from subsidies.

Soto represents the congressional district with the second-highest number of ACA users in the country, with about 275,000 enrollees and 271,000 benefiting from the extended credits. Salazar represents the district with the fourth-highest number of beneficiaries, about 236,000 total users and 231,000 helped by the additional credits.

Giménez’s district ranks fifth with 244,000 total ACA users, and 241,000 helped by the credits being debated. Moskowitz’s district has 171,000 enrollees, with 164,000 enjoying the subsidies.

But it’s unclear, even if the House passes the three-year extension, if such an effort has any path in the Senate. The upper chamber last week killed a vote pushed by Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for a similar three-year extension. U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott of Florida, both Republicans, voted against considering the bill.