Vice President JD Vance on Thursday teased a ‘great’ healthcare plan that the Trump administration has in the works to help bring costs down for American families, saying President Donald Trump cares about fixing a broken system, not playing political games with Democrats.
Vance made the remarks during a fireside chat with Breitbart’s Matt Boyle in Washington, D.C., when asked about Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expiring at the end of the year and the high costs of healthcare prices and premiums.
‘I don’t want to get ahead of the President … because we had a very, very good meeting in the Oval Office yesterday,’ Vance said. ‘I think that we have a great healthcare plan coming together. I think that it’s going to get Republican and Democrat support. And I think the president, look, right now, American people, the American people get crap healthcare and they pay way too much for it.’
Americans could see sharp increases in healthcare premiums in 2026 as ACA subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, with their extension uncertain. Those using the ACA marketplace are already projected to face a 26% premium hike. If subsidies lapse, monthly payments for subsidized patients could jump by 114%, according to an October analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Vance described the healthcare system as ‘broken,’ claiming it was the Democrats who ‘broke it,’ but said the Trump administration still wants to work together if Democrats are ‘willing to fix it.’ He touted Trump’s leadership, saying that the president cares more about doing what is right for American families than playing politics.
‘People come to the president and say, ‘No, no, no, don’t talk about healthcare. That’s a graveyard for Republicans. Republicans always lose on healthcare,’’ Vance said. ‘And the president’s like, ‘I don’t care about the politics of it. This system is screwed up for the American people. We need to fix it. So let’s go and do it. Politics be damned.’’
He added: ‘I love that. That’s leadership. And that’s exactly what we should want coming from the White House.’
Republicans and Democrats clashed over whether to extend expiring ACA subsidies, triggering a shutdown that lasted more than 40 days — the longest in U.S. history.
Democrats initially refused to support a funding measure without a provision to make the subsidies permanent but eventually backed a short-term bill that did not include the extension. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to hold a vote in December on legislation to continue the credits.
Trump has signaled he would not back continuing the subsidies and said in a social media post Tuesday that Congress should not ‘waste’ its time on negotiating an extension.
‘THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE,’ Trump said in the post.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.