Senate Republicans want to give Americans up to $1,500 to cover health expenses rather than extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that have lowered health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Bill Cassidy on Dec. 8 unveiled a bill that would deposit $1,000 to $1,500 into health savings accounts for eligible consumers. This money would be in lieu of extending COVID-19-era enhanced tax credits that sharply reduced health premiums under the Affordable Care Act, often called "Obamacare."

The Senate will vote Thursday, Dec. 11, on the Crapo-Cassidy bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. The Senate will also vote Thursday on Democrats' proposal to extend the ACA's expiring enhanced premium tax credits for three years.

Who would qualify for $1,500 under the Republicans bill?

Under the Crapo-Cassidy legislation, the federal government would deposit $1,000 into a health savings account for consumers ages 18 to 49 or $1,500 for consumers ages 50 to 64.

The payment would be limited to people who earn up to 700% of the federal poverty level − $109,550 for an individual or $225,050 for a family of four in 2025.

The legislation also requires people be enrolled in a bronze or catastrophic Affordable Care Act plan. People would get the health savings account deposits in 2026 and 2027.

In a one-page description of the bill, Republicans said the legislation would send money to patients instead of insurance companies and lower health insurance premiums and health care costs. The bill also prohibits funds from being used on abortion or transgender services.

How much health care can I get for $1,500?

The health savings account deposit wouldn't be enough to cover the average deductible for most ACA bronze or catastrophic plans.

In 2026, the average deductible for an individual bronze Affordable Care Act plan is $7,476, according to an analysis by KFF, a health policy nonprofit.

The deductible is the amount consumers must pay for in-network services before most coverage kicks in. But Obamacare plans must cover the full cost of nearly two dozen preventive care services such as immunization and screening blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and colorectal cancer.

Health care experts said the Crapo-Cassidy bill, if enacted, could leave consumers with large out-of-pocket expenses when they go to the doctor or hospital.

"This might work for folks who are very healthy," said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms. "But for anybody with a chronic condition, this is not going to get you very far."

How do health savings accounts work?

Health savings accounts are paired with high-deductible health insurance plans and allow consumers to save money before taxes. The money can be spent on eligible expenses such as doctor or hospital bills or prescription drugs. Consumers can roll over health savings account balances from year to year, invest the money and spend tax-free gains on eligible expenses.

Trump, Republicans weigh in on sending health cash to consumers

Cassidy, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, has said that empowering patients with cash could make them better health consumers by enabling them to bargain for lower costs.

The Crapo-Cassidy bill incorporates President Donald Trump's idea to send money to consumers instead of health insurance companies. On Tuesday, Trump said he "likes the concept" of the Crapo-Cassidy bill.

"I love the idea of money going directly to the people, not to the insurance companies, going directly to the people," Trump said. "It can be in the health savings accounts, it can be in a number of different ways."

The average cost for family health insurance is nearly $27,000

Without the enhanced tax credits that expire at the end of 2025, average costs for 22 million Americans who get subsidized ACA insurance will more than double on Jan. 1, 2026, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit.

While Democrats and Republicans debate the fate of the nearly 24 million Americans enrolled in ACA plans, Congress has focused less attention on the finances of most working-age Americans who get health insurance through their employers.

About 154 million working-age adults and their families get coverage through the workplace, which remains the backbone of the nation's health insurance system.

The average cost for a family health insurance plan offered through the workplace was $26,993 in 2025, an increase of 6% from a year ago, according to the annual employer health benefits survey released Oct. 22 by KFF, a health policy nonprofit.

By comparison, workers wages grew 4% and inflation is up 2.7% from a year ago.

Nearly half of U.S. adults are worried they won’t be able to pay for needed health care in the coming year, according to a survey released in Nov. 18 by West Health-Gallup Center for Healthcare in America.

Contributing: Joey Garrison and Francesca Chambers

(This story was updated to add a video.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Some Americans might get $1,500 to cover health bills. Who qualifies?

Reporting by Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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