In a sharp critique during a recent Senate committee session, US Senator Ron Johnson placed the blame for skyrocketing health insurance premiums squarely on the fundamental design of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. He argued that the expiration of temporary pandemic-era subsidies is merely exposing deeper, pre-existing flaws in the system.
Structural Flaws, Not Subsidy End, Are Core Issue
Johnson, speaking at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on December 27, 2025, urged the public to look beyond the immediate crisis. He presented testimony from small business owners and individuals facing premium increases of 100% to 200% as enhanced COVID-19 subsidies expire at the end of 2025. However, he stressed that the root cause is the Obamacare framework itself.
The senator clarified that most Americans using the ACA exchanges will continue to receive financial help under the original law's provisions. The group facing the most severe financial shock, he explained, are those whose incomes exceed 400% of the federal poverty line. These individuals are now bearing the full brunt of the premium increases without the safety net of the temporary subsidies.
A Contrast With the Pre-ACA Insurance Market
Johnson contrasted the current system with the health insurance market that existed before the Affordable Care Act was implemented. He pointed to features like greater flexibility in plan design, the availability of catastrophic coverage options, and state-managed high-risk pools for people with preexisting conditions as more sustainable alternatives.
He cited data showing premium increases of more than 160% on exchanges across the nation since the ACA's implementation, arguing this proves the system's inherent unsustainability. "Continuing temporary subsidies only masks these deeper failures rather than fixing them," Johnson warned, suggesting that such measures are merely a band-aid solution.
An Unsustainable Path Forward
The senator's central argument is that the structural design of Obamacare, which he views as overly rigid and costly, is the primary driver of unaffordable premiums. The end of the temporary subsidies has simply brought this long-standing problem into sharper focus for a specific segment of the population.
Johnson's remarks highlight a continuing political divide over the future of American healthcare, with the sustainability of the ACA's exchange model once again coming under intense scrutiny as financial pressures mount on middle and upper-middle-class families.
