Congress faces holiday crunch as health care fix collides with shrinking calendar

Congress has been back after the week-plus Thanksgiving Day break. And days are slipping off the calendar as lawmakers struggle to assemble a plan to address health care or defray the cost of spiking premiums.

The deadline is the end of the calendar year. But Fox is told that the insurance companies just need action by Jan. 15.

Still, that doesn’t give Congress much time to act. And, depending on the metric, the House is only scheduled to meet for nine days for the rest of 2025.

 The Senate is not as clear, but, unofficially, the Senate will only meet for nine more days as well.

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The House is scheduled to be in Tuesday through Friday. Then Dec. 15 through Dec. 19.

The Senate meets Monday. But it’s unclear if the Senate would meet Friday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference on healthcare with other House Democrats, on the East steps of the U.S. Capitol on the 15th day of the government shutdown in Washington, Oct. 15, 2025.  (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Senate also meets Dec. 15 through at least Dec. 18. But anything beyond that is a little sketchy.

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However, this is where things get interesting.

The House originally was not scheduled to meet Dec. 19. But that date was added to the schedule a few weeks ago.

Some would interpret that added date as “code” for the possibility that the House may need to be in town the weekend of Dec. 20 to Dec. 21, and perhaps beyond. There is a possibility that the House could add days to the calendar around that period because Christmas Day isn’t until that Thursday.

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So, in theory, the House has a few extra days at its disposal to address issues before Dec.25. It would be a different matter if Christmas itself fell on say a Monday or Tuesday. 

So let me fillet the meaning of this.

Developing a coalition to support such a package — without bipartisan support and full-throated support from President Donald Trump — likely stymies any health care package. (Alex Brandon/AP)

House Republicans are aiming to release a health care plan in the coming days. But developing a coalition to support such a package — without bipartisan support and full-throated support from President Donald Trump — likely stymies any health care package.

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Keep in mind, Republicans have talked about an alternative plan to Obamacare since 2009, but have never passed anything. So, it’s truly hard to believe they can pass anything in the next 26 days.

The Senate is expected to take votes related to competing health care plans late next week. The GOP offering is still unclear.

Senate Democrats just unveiled a three-year extension of the current Obamacare subsidies. Any bill needs 60 yeas. So expect the Democrats’ plan to die immediately.

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Frankly, it’s likely that the failure of both plans in the Senate makes everyone get serious. Often in the Senate, something must first fail until the sides get serious about a compromise and begin to hustle.

That takes us back to the calendar.

Thus, with the deadline of skyrocketing health care premiums, it’s possible that Congress races up to and/or through the holidays to pass some sort of a health care fix before the end of 2025. 

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That’s why that weekend and days between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23, which are not on the congressional calendar, could be prime targets for Congress to work to pass something.

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That’s to say nothing of Congress returning after Christmas and trying to approve something before or around the New Year.

 Both bodies are technically slated to return to session Jan. 5.

And don’t forget, that the Senate passed its version of the original Obamacare plan just after dawn on Christmas Eve morning, 2009.

Discussions around rising costs for healthcare, primarily surrounding Obamacare, have divided Republicans and they contemplate whether to reform or replace the system. (By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Also lurking in the background: spending bills to fund the government.

Government funding expires at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 30. Nine of the 12 annual spending bills for Fiscal Year 2026 remain unfinished. The House expects to tackle a few bills before the end of the year.

But if Congress fails to address anything on health care before the end of January, the probability of another government shutdown increases exponentially.

So, I bid you “tidings of comfort and joy.”