Picture this: you’re paying for your neighbor’s health insurance premium. And your other neighbor’s. And maybe even someone making $500,000 a year. That’s what’s happening right now with something called the “Biden COVID credits.”
Here’s the deal. During the pandemic, Democrats expanded health care subsidies that were supposed to be temporary. They called them COVID relief. But now, four years later, they want to make them permanent. Thirty-five conservative groups just told President Trump: “Don’t let this happen.”
What Are These Credits Anyway?
The Biden administration took the old Obamacare subsidies and pumped them up with steroids. Before, if you made more than about $60,000 for a family of four, you got no help with insurance premiums. Now, even families making over $500,000 can get taxpayer money to help pay their bills.
Think about it this way. If the government started paying half your grocery bill, wouldn’t the store raise prices? That’s exactly what’s happening with health insurance.
The Money Problem
Americans for Tax Reform, which led this effort, says making these credits permanent would cost $350 billion over ten years. That’s three times bigger than Trump’s “No Tax on Tips” plan. When you add interest costs, we’re talking about $448 billion.
Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform put it simply: these expanded subsidies are “going straight to insurance companies, not patients.”
Fraud Is Running Wild
Here’s something that should make your blood boil. The Paragon Health Institute found that 6.4 million Americans are getting these subsidies who shouldn’t be. Some don’t even know they’re signed up. Others never go to the doctor at all.
Forty percent of people with certain plans had zero medical claims in 2024. No doctor visits. No prescriptions. Nothing. They’re basically phantom patients getting free money.
Why This Matters to Conservatives
This hits every conservative principle we hold dear. It’s wasteful spending. It’s fraud. It’s the government picking winners and losers. And it’s making the problem worse, not better.
When government pays for something, prices go up. That’s basic economics. These credits are making insurance more expensive for everyone in the long run.
David McIntosh from Club for Growth and Brent Gardner from Americans for Prosperity both signed the letter. So did leaders from 33 other groups. They see what we see: another big government program that started as “temporary help” and became a permanent handout.
What Democrats Are Saying
Democrats want to extend these credits as part of keeping the government funded. They’re basically holding the government hostage to get their way. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says any deal must include health care provisions.
Some Republicans are wavering too. Rep. Jen Kiggans from Virginia wants to extend the credits for one more year. She says lawmakers need time to find a “reasonable approach.”
But Senate Majority Leader John Thune got it right. He told CNN this shouldn’t be tied to government funding. “This is not the time, the place to do this,” he said.
Looking Ahead
If Trump lets these credits expire, about 3 million people might lose coverage. Democrats will scream that Republicans are taking away health care. The media will run sob stories.
But here’s the truth: we’re not taking away health care. We’re stopping a massive wealth transfer from taxpayers to insurance companies. We’re ending subsidies for people making half a million dollars a year.
What You Can Do
Call your representatives. Tell them you support letting these credits expire. Remind them that temporary means temporary.
These 35 groups got it right. They told Trump:
“We urge you to let the Biden COVID credits expire, not extend them or — worse — make them permanent.”
This is about more than health care. It’s about whether we believe in limited government or unlimited spending. It’s about whether “temporary” still means something in Washington.
The choice is clear. End the handouts. Stop the fraud. Let the free market work.
Read the full letter, here: 9-26-25 – Coalition to Let Biden COVID Credits Expire
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
