FILE PHOTO: Signs for former Obamacare health insurance plans lay next to a fence in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S., January 28, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) U.S. and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speak to the media during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

By Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Democrats will put a three-year extension of expiring health insurance subsidies to a U.S. Senate vote next week, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday, a late push to revive a proposal Republicans blocked earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune committed to giving Democrats a vote on healthcare legislation under an agreement last month to end a record 43-day government shutdown.

“Senate Democrats will introduce legislation for a clean three-year extension of the current ACA tax credits,” Schumer said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. “Republicans have one week to decide where they stand. Vote for this bill and bring healthcare costs down or block this bill and send premiums skyrocketing.” The vote will occur on December 11.

Thune dismissed Democrats' plan, telling reporters that it was "designed to fail."

Democrats believe the loss of the subsidies used by 24 million people will be a galvanizing issue for voters in next year's midterm elections when control of Congress is at stake.

Thune said, "A serious conversation about a real solution" can follow after the bill fails.

Democrats instigated the shutdown to pressure Republicans into extending the subsidies, which expire at the end of this year. While there is some support for an extension, Republicans have called for reforms such as income limits on eligibility for the tax credits and adding Hyde Amendment restrictions, which prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for abortion coverage.

The Democratic proposal needs 60 votes to end debate and advance to a final simple-majority vote in the Senate, where Republicans control 53 of 100 seats.

Schumer said all Senate Democrats would support the measure, meaning 13 Republican votes would be needed. It appeared unlikely to attract enough support.

SPEAKER JOHNSON NON-COMMITTAL, TIMELINE TIGHT

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Thursday that he was working to finalize a healthcare bill to put to a House vote before the chamber recesses for the year during the week of December 15. He has not committed to holding a vote on any healthcare legislation taken up by the Senate.

Schumer's plan tracks with the approach House Democrats are seeking. It is still unclear whether Senate Republicans will propose a bill of their own next week or later in December.

Congress is running against a tight timeline. December 15 is the last day for Obamacare participants to enroll in or change insurance plans for coverage beginning January 1.

(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Cynthia Osterman)