ICYMI: McLaughlin Warns Congress Must Act to Prevent Massive Health Care Tax Hike, Protect Working Americans and the GOP Majority

With December 31st Deadline Looming, Congress Must Deliver on Promise to Advance  Affordability Agenda or Risk Political Consequences

In case you missed it, widely respected pollster John McLaughlin, a long-term pollster for President Trump and CEO of McLaughlin & Associates, has been repeatedly sounding the alarm in a series of interviews on the urgency for the GOP Congress to rally around a solution to avert a massive health care tax hike starting to hammer millions of hardworking Americans.

McLaughlin’s message was consistent across every interview: If Congress fails to act on extending the enhanced premium tax credits that help working Americans afford health care, premiums will soar, millions of families will lose coverage, and Republicans will face severe political consequences in 2026 that places their majority at risk and could jeopardize President Trump’s America First Agenda.

McLaughlin underscored what ABB’s recent battleground polling makes clear: affordability is the top issue for voters. Moreover, he stressed that health care costs should be top of mind for GOP politicians and allowing the credits to expire would be a political disaster for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterms. He emphasized that voters do not view these credits as handouts. Instead, they see them as essential tax relief that help working-class families who “pay their own way” keep health coverage affordable.

“These are working Americans — many holding down two or three jobs — whose employers don’t provide insurance,” McLaughlin explained in a November 21 interview with Trish Regan. “They rely on the health care tax credits to buy coverage on their own, and if Congress lets them expire, premiums will double.”

During conversations with Chris Stigall and Hugh Hewitt, McLaughlin highlighted new data showing nine in ten voters are concerned about rising health care costs, with 73% worried their premiums will increase next year. These concerns were especially prevalent among Independents and independent women. He warned that failing to extend the credits hands Democrats a powerful wedge issue.

On Scott Jennings’s nationally syndicated program, McLaughlin walked through ABB’s latest battleground survey of 16 GOP-held districts, showing:

  • 70% of voters support extending the health care tax credits.

  • 57% are more likely to vote for a candidate who protects the credits.

  • A majority say they would vote for a Democrat over a Republican who allows the credits to expire.

McLaughlin cautioned bluntly: “We can’t let working-class Trump voters go cold turkey. If these credits lapse, Republicans risk losing the House.”

In his interview with Trish Regan, McLaughlin was asked why voters care so deeply about this issue. McLaughlin responded that health care costs now outrank groceries as the top affordability concern nationwide, and noted that these credits are central to the coalition that elected President Trump:

“Independent women, Hispanics, swing voters — they all overwhelmingly support the tax credits. These are the voters who decide elections.”

On The Mike Gallagher Show, McLaughlin stressed that extending the credits is essential to keeping the Trump economic agenda on track and preventing millions from being pushed off their coverage:

“We don’t want people forced onto Medicaid. We want working Americans to keep buying their own insurance and keep working. That’s what these tax credits allow them to do.”

Read more about the urgency to avert a massive health care tax hike for millions of hardworking Americans HERE.

Read findings from McLaughlin & Associates from June and October of this year, which found overwhelming support for the individual health care marketplace, the EPTCs, and candidates for Congress who support and secure an extension.