Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday took a sharp jab at his own party, saying Republicans might as well rename the Affordable Care Act “Trumpcare” after failing to repeal it despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress.
“Might as well call it Trumpcare now,” Massie wrote on X. “Our party has made no serious effort to repeal Obamacare and legalize affordable health insurance after taking control of the House, Senate & White House. Why? Because the current system enriches insurance and hospital companies.”
Massie’s comments came in response to a new analysis from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, which found that insurers are seeking a median 14% premium increase for 2027 Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. If approved by state regulators, that would be the second-largest annual increase since 2018.
Premium Hikes Renew Healthcare Debate
The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, provides government-subsidized health insurance for Americans who don’t get coverage through an employer. The Peterson-KFF analysis, released Wednesday, blamed the proposed increases on rising medical costs, higher spending on specialty drugs and GLP-1 weight-loss medications, broader medical inflation, and a less healthy enrollee pool after the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies. If the hikes go through, ACA premiums will have risen by more than 33% between 2025 and 2027.
Massie’s remarks tap into a long-running frustration among some Republicans who feel the party has broken its promise to repeal and replace the ACA. Despite controlling Congress and the presidency, the GOP has not made a serious push to dismantle the law, and Massie argues that’s because the current system benefits insurance and hospital companies.
ACA Faces Broader Policy Scrutiny
The debate over premiums comes as the Trump administration tightens oversight of the ACA marketplace. Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that more than one million HealthCare.gov enrollees don’t have a Social Security number on file. Officials are expanding enrollment verification and reviewing suspected fraud, and they say nearly 2.9 million improper or questionable enrollments have already been removed or blocked.
Healthcare affordability is becoming a political flashpoint. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) criticized the Trump administration’s policies this week, arguing that rising ACA premiums and proposals allowing insurers to offer patient loans would make coverage less affordable. The criticism followed the new projections of a 14% premium increase for 2027.
So Massie’s point—that Republicans now own Obamacare, for better or worse—feels increasingly hard to argue with. Whether you call it Trumpcare or not, the political and financial stakes are only getting higher.
