WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked House-passed legislation to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits for three years. With Senate Republicans blocking this bill and ensuring the ACA tax credits expired on December 31, 2025, President Trump threatening to veto this bill, and Republicans in the New Mexico state legislature refusing to call on Trump to address skyrocketing health care costs, Republicans are effectively raising the cost of health care for American families.

"Working families are being crushed by the affordability crisis and soaring health care costs - and instead of helping, Republicans have slammed the door on extending the ACA tax credits. Their decision will force American families to pay more for the care they rely on or become uninsured altogether. When it comes time to actually deliver for families, Republicans walk away. That level of callousness is infuriating.

"I will keep fighting to rein in Trump's affordability crisis and permanently extend the ACA tax credits. American families deserve lower costs and a health care system that doesn't force them to choose between paying their bills and staying healthy."

Heinrich remains unwavering in the fight to permanently extend the ACA tax credits and lower health care costs for families.

In the most recent government shutdown, Trump and Republicans chose not to work with Heinrich and Democrats to extend the ACA tax credits, shut down the government for 44 days - the longest government shutdown in American history - and pass a government funding bill that failed to extend the ACA tax credits.

Heinrich repeatedly voted for a government funding bill that included an extension of the ACA health tax credits and urged Congressional Republicans to come to the negotiating table to engage in good faith bipartisan negotiations with Democrats to extend these tax credits and reopen the government.

Heinrich also joined Senate Democrats to introduce the Lower Health Care Costs Act, legislation to extend the enhanced premium ACA tax credits for three years and protect New Mexicans from Trump's affordability crisis. Senate Republicans blocked the Lower Health Care Costs Act just as the ACA tax credits were set to expire in December 2025 - effectively raising the cost of health care for families. BeWell New Mexico estimates that over 6,300 New Mexico enrollees will be impacted if the enhanced advanced premium tax credit is not extended by July 2026.

Heinrich voted to pass the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which authorized initial enhancements to the premium tax credit to make health insurance more affordable for more people and increase subsidies for working, middle-income families in New Mexico. In 2022, Heinrich voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended the enhanced premium tax credit through 2025.

In addition to voting for the Lower Health Care Costs Act, Heinrich cosponsors the Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 to make the enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credit permanent and build upon record health care marketplace enrollment.

Recently, Heinrich hosted a roundtable to hear directly from New Mexicans whose premiums will rise significantly as a result of Congressional Republicans' refusal to extend the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits.

In September 2025, Heinrich hosted a press conference with BeWell New Mexico and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty to highlight how the health care crisis, created by Trump and Republicans, will hike health care premiums if Republicans allow the ACA premium tax credits to expire.

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