Republicans generally have been reluctant to extend the enhanced subsidies without also addressing abuse of the Obamacare system, which they say rose dramatically after those subsidies were introduced.

The expiration date indicates that the subsidies were not considered a long-term solution, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a Fox News interview on Nov. 16.

“It creates incentives for fraud,” he said.

“Instead of paying insurance companies to manage our money, let’s trust Americans to manage their own care — with a pre-funded Federal Flexible Spending Account,” he said.

A Flexible Spending Account is similar to a Health Savings Account but is not owned by the individual and does not roll over from year to year.

Commercial health insurance premiums have risen every year since 2008, according to Health System Tracker, a data collection site run by the nonprofits The Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF.