Patronis Declares Obamacare ‘Broken’ as Healthcare Costs Soar

Rep. Jimmy Patronis on Tuesday criticized the Affordable Care Act, questioning a House-passed plan to extend health law subsidies and asserting that the U.S. healthcare system is experiencing steep annual cost increases. He urged Congress to shift more power to consumers.

“The Affordable Care Act is broken,” the Florida Republican stated. “The nation’s healthcare system is seeing double-digit increases every single year.”

Patronis noted that 17 House Republicans had joined Democrats on the subsidy measure but expressed skepticism about whether additional federal dollars would guarantee lower premiums.

“I don’t believe it will make it more affordable,” he said. “All you’re doing is throwing money at insurance companies without consumer choice.”

The representative advocated for proposals linked to Sen. Rick Scott and the White House that would route assistance directly to policyholders rather than insurers.

“What we’ve been advocating for is sending dollars straight to policyholders, not the insurance companies,” Patronis explained.

He compared the approach to the competition among car insurers, arguing that healthcare should function more like a consumer marketplace.

“You give it to the consumer and you give them choice,” he said.

Patronis also highlighted the narrow margins in the House as lawmakers work to avoid a government shutdown, emphasizing that Republican leaders must build broad consensus to advance legislation.

“The House has literally a single vote majority,” he stated. “We have to push out bills with a consensus where we can only lose one vote.”

Patronis praised House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Steve Scalise for their efforts.

On trade, Patronis defended President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs, warning that court actions limiting tariffs could undermine the administration’s leverage in negotiations.

“Blowing up tariffs in the middle of these negotiations would cost us leverage,” he said. “A ruling against tariffs would harm American workers.”

He contended that tariffs are being used to strengthen domestic manufacturing and ultimately benefit American jobs.

“It’s what the president has been doing: leveraging tariffs to build a stronger American manufacturing base,” Patronis added.