Sen. Jon Husted told Newsmax Wednesday that the Affordable Care Act must be overhauled because it is "broken," while backing a short-term extension of premium subsidies as lawmakers work toward broader reform.
Appearing on Newsmax's "National Report," the Ohio Republican argued that rising costs and fraud show the law is failing patients and taxpayers alike.
Husted said he supports extending subsidies temporarily because unwinding the health care law cannot happen all at once, even as he pushes for structural changes.
"I want to extend the subsidies, but I also want to fix the healthcare system," he said. "Obamacare is broken. It's driving up costs."
He warned that subsidies alone are not a long-term solution and instead shift costs to taxpayers while masking deeper problems in the system.
"Subsidies only transfer the burden onto the rest of the taxpayers," Husted said, adding that he has proposed a limited extension paired with reforms.
Husted said he introduced a plan to extend the subsidies for two years while targeting what he described as widespread abuse within the program.
"I came forward with my own proposal to extend it for two years, but we want to eliminate the fraud," he said.
The senator pointed to findings from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), saying improper enrollments and payments are costing billions.
"People get signed up, they don't even know they're being signed up," Husted said. "And GAO has determined that the fraud is over $20 billion."
Husted said the current system funnels money directly to insurers rather than empowering patients, a structure he believes inflates profits and drives up costs.
"The money goes directly to the insurance companies, not to the individual," he said. "So, we can't just extend them and extend the fraud."
Instead, Husted said any compromise should redirect assistance to consumers so they can choose how to spend it.
"That's the framework," he said, describing talks underway in the Senate.
Husted said the goal is immediate relief for those who rely on the exchanges for healthcare coverage while lawmakers pursue long-term fixes.
"One little action on our part right now is not going to solve the whole problem," he said, but it "will give relief to individual small business owners and pastors and farmers."
He added that lasting reform means changing incentives across the system.
"We need to help them immediately, and then we need to fix the broader healthcare system," Husted said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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