WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Republicans voted to expand health insurance options for the over 60 million Americans employed by small businesses and require much-needed transparency in drug pricing to combat the middlemen who are driving up the cost of drugs for the 164 million Americans on employer-sponsored insurance – two Ways and Means policies included in the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. This legislation will lower health care costs for all Americans and build on Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts enacted earlier this year that delivered solutions to lower premiums and increase access to care.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement on passage in the House of Representatives of the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act: 

“Democrats have failed to deliver on their promise to make health care affordable. Premiums have gone up 80 percent, and 150 rural hospitals have shut down since Democrats enacted Obamacare. It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that every single Democrat rejected an opportunity to lower costs for working families in favor of writing another blank check to health insurers to prop up a system that the GAO has confirmed is riddled with fraud.  

“The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act gives access to CHOICE Arrangements that lower health care costs, expands coverage options for small business workers and lowers premiums and drug costs for Americans on employer-sponsored insurance. Unlike Democrats that want to funnel more taxpayer dollars to big insurance companies and double down on a failed system, Republicans are acting to actually lower health costs for working families.”

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act includes Ways and Means Committee policies that expand choice and lower costs for ALL Americans, not just those that receive Obamacare premium tax credits: 

• CHOICE Arrangements allow employers to provide tax-free contributions to their employees, giving them the freedom to use those funds to purchase health coverage that best fits their family’s needs. These pre-tax benefits are the same ones used by Fortune 500 companies offering health care coverage. One million Americans already use this arrangement, and the legislation would expand its use to another 350,000 individuals. 
• The bill also prevents pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), middlemen owned by insurance companies, from keeping employers in the dark about the true price of drugs. The bill requires detailed reporting and transparency from PBMs so plans and employers know the true cost of drug rebates, fees, and payments and can then negotiate better contracts and fuel competition to lower prices. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed this policy lowers premiums.

Government watchdog finds Obamacare riddled with fraud:

At the request of the Ways and Means Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found large-scale systemic failures that allow fake identities, dead people, and massive improper use of Social Security numbers to receive Obamacare subsidies. GAO conducted covert operations which included creating fictitious identities that flooded health insurers with unjustified subsidies. One-hundred percent of fake applicants were approved by the Obamacare marketplace as recently as late 2024, and 90 percent of fake applicants continue to receive coverage in 2025. 

Read more about GAO’s finding of systemic fraud in the Obamacare marketplace.

Working Families Tax Cuts lowers premiums for families:

Earlier this year Republicans enacted the Working Families Tax Cuts that will lower health care costs as part of the largest tax cuts in American history:

• The Congressional Budget Office has found that program integrity measures in the Working Families Tax Cuts have already produced $185 billion in savings for taxpayers and reduced premiums by 0.6 percent. 
• Expanding health savings accounts (HSAs) to millions on Obamacare will unlock triple tax advantages for medical care, better protection against medical debt during emergencies, and more freedom to choose affordable care.
• Recognizing direct primary care (DPC) arrangements as a qualified medical expense will empower families to pair and spend HSA funds on low-cost primary care. 
• Making telehealth flexibility permanent will ensure that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can continue covering telehealth visits before deductibles are met.

Read here about how the Working Families Tax Cuts lower health care costs for workers and families.