Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants President Trump to create a special team of six senators—three Republicans and three Democrats—to solve the mess around Affordable Care Act subsidies that’s causing the government shutdown. The Kentucky Republican thinks Democrats should reopen the federal government for just a month while this group figures out what to do about health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
Paul shared this idea during a Sunday morning appearance on Media with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). He’s worried that when these tax credits run out, health insurance premiums will jump for millions of Americans. The libertarian senator believes his bipartisan commission plan could finally get Congress moving after weeks of deadlock.
The federal government has been shut down since early October, and nobody’s really trying to fix the problem. Senate Democrats won’t budge until Congress votes to extend the enhanced ACA subsidies. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans want Democrats to pass a continuing resolution for funding without dealing with healthcare first. It’s a classic standoff, and workers and soldiers aren’t getting paid while politicians argue.
Here’s where Paul gets interesting—he’s the lone GOP senator who keeps voting against his own party’s funding proposal. He voted against it in recent weeks because he’s worried about increased deficit spending. He also voted against the president’s massive tax and spending bill earlier this year for the same reasons. Paul cares more about the budget than party loyalty, which makes him different from most Republicans in the Senate. He opposes extending the current subsidies but agrees there’s an urgent issue that needs attention before premiums skyrocket.
Paul’s vision is pretty straightforward. President Trump would pick three Republicans and three Democrats to serve on an official commission. These bipartisan senators would spend a one-month period working out proposals to handle the expiring health care subsidies. “I suggest that President Trump come forward and name this select group,” Paul said on television. They’d be tasked with addressing the core challenge and then come back with real solutions.
But here’s the trade-off Paul wants: Democrats need to open the government for that month so the commission has time to work. During this period, the team would formulate plans to address rising health insurance costs without just throwing more money at the problem. In exchange for that, Democrats get their chance to shape healthcare policy while Republicans get the government running again. Paul thinks if you put people like Sen. Kaine and himself “in a room,” they “could figure something out.” That’s part of the solution—actually talking instead of just posturing for cameras.
Paul agrees that health insurance costs are out of control, but he argued that expanding the Obamacare subsidies has made things worse. “As we’ve expanded these subsidies, what’s happened is premiums have continued to rise, and big insurance companies have gotten richer,” he explained. Instead of helping regular people, he thinks the current Democrat subsidies just pad corporate profits.
The Kentucky Republican floated an interesting alternative—legalizing collective bargaining for regular consumers. Right now, it’s illegal to go to Costco or Sam’s Club and buy your insurance there. You have to be part of a trade group, like carpenters or cattlemen or whatever. That doesn’t make sense to Paul. “We should let anybody” join together to negotiate better rates. Think about it—Costco has 44 million members. If a company could negotiate for that many people, it would drive prices down through basic market competition rather than government subsidizing everything.
Paul also questions who’s getting help. Under current rules, a person who makes $225,000 gets $1,200 a year in subsidies. “If you make that much, you don’t need the government paying your insurance bills,” he pointed out. That money could help people who actually struggle to afford coverage. “I don’t think the subsidies are working” as designed, Paul admitted. “I’m open to discussing it,” he added, showing he’s willing to negotiate despite his concerns.
What This Means For You and Your Family
When the enhanced tax credits under the Affordable Care Act expire, millions of Americans will see their monthly health insurance premiums jump significantly. You might suddenly face bills that are hundreds of dollars higher each month if Congress doesn’t address this before the deadline. The federal government shutdown makes everything worse because workers throughout the country go without pay while lawmakers in Washington can’t agree on basic funding.
Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats are both dug in. Neither side wants to compromise without getting something major from the other. Paul’s bipartisan commission represents one way out of this mess—a structured process where both parties could agree on solutions that actually work. The commission approach gives political cover to senators who want to find common ground without looking weak to their base supporters.
Whether President Trump will embrace this idea remains unclear. The GOP leadership hasn’t said much about Paul’s proposal yet. But time is running out. Lawmakers must act soon, or millions of families will face tough choices about whether they can afford health insurance at all. The ongoing shutdown standoff can’t last forever—eventually, someone has to blink. Paul suggested his exchange of a temporary government reopening for serious healthcare negotiations might be the bridge that gets both sides talking again. Senate leaders from both parties need to decide if they’re more interested in winning political points or actually solving problems for the Americans who elected them.
