**Dr. Mehmet Oz Discusses Potential Extension of COVID-19 Era Health Care Subsidies**
*Posted on 11/16/2025 by SeekAndFind*
Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently indicated that the Trump administration is considering multiple options to extend health care subsidies that are set to expire soon.
A key factor that contributed to the government shutdown lasting more than a month was the impending expiration of COVID-19 pandemic-era health care subsidies at the end of the year. Democrats in Congress had attempted to include an extension of these subsidies in a stopgap funding bill but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
“The president’s willing to look at all options,” Oz stated on Sunday during an interview on CNN’s *State of the Union*. “But we have some major flaws with the way these COVID-era subsidies were added. And just so everyone’s on the same page in this issue, our goal is to get people covered.”
The subsidies are part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Extending the ACA subsidies, which are scheduled to expire soon, is estimated to cost roughly $35 billion annually. However, allowing them to expire could result in approximately 4 million more people being uninsured by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
“I promise you the president is laser focused on this,” Oz emphasized regarding the health care discussions. “It’s the main thing I talk with him about. Congress as well is all over this. We have got to find solutions that don’t just work at the end of this year but work for years to come.”
On November 12, President Trump signed a government funding bill that ended a record 43-day shutdown. The signing took place just hours after the House of Representatives approved the Senate’s measure in a mostly party-line vote of 222-209.
If Congress does not take further action on health care costs this year, the enhanced premium tax credits that have helped many Americans afford Obamacare health insurance plans for the past four years will lapse. According to an analysis by health care research nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), this would more than double the premiums currently paid by subsidized enrollees on average.
*The Associated Press contributed to this report.*
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**Topics:** Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
**Keywords:** healthcare; obamacare
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