Sen. Ron Wyden in Washington, Dec. 10, 2025. Mattie Neretin/
Iits mantra of “reversing Republican cuts” from last year’s budget reconciliation bill—which among other things would expand health coverage for illegal immigrants—would cost more than $1 trillion over a decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. The CBO has estimated that extending enhanced ObamaCare subsidies would cost $350 billion over the same period. In 2020, I calculated that repealing the firewall [between employer plans and subsidized Exchange coverage] would lead to $2.2 trillion in higher subsidy spending over a decade for the estimated 24 million people who would switch from employer coverage to the exchanges. Enacting such proposals would cost trillions without factoring in the new cost-sharing assistance Mr. Wyden outlines.