House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated his preparedness to reform Obamacare but remained adamant that he would only discuss it with Democrats when the federal government is reopened.

“We have more reforms coming to try to fix Obamacare, which is not working for the people, but you need common sense, responsible Republicans who are serious about policy to fix that for the people,” Johnson told reporters Friday. “That’s what we’re working to do. The Democrats are stalling that because they need a political talking point.”

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Not enough Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), support a House-passed continuing resolution to reopen the government with funding until Nov. 21 as they try to leverage their negotiating power to extend COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare healthcare insurance premium tax credits, which are set to expire on Dec. 31. Eight Democrats are required because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also does not support the continuing resolution, which would prolong current spending levels for the next six weeks.

Making the expanded Obamacare tax credits, created by former President Joe Biden‘s American Rescue Plan Act, permanent is predicted to increase the federal deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office. At the same time, it would mean that there would be 3.6 million more insured Americans over the corresponding time period.

Johnson was accompanied at the press conference on Capitol Hill by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who repeated his willingness to discuss Obamacare, “but that can’t happen while the government is shut down.”

Thune called the GOP continuing resolution “a straightforward, simple solution to keep the government open, and then all these other issues that we’re talking about, we’re happy to sit down and have conversations with the president.”

Both Vice President JD Vance and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt were asked earlier this week what President Donald Trump was prepared to do regarding Obamacare, considering Republicans have previously campaigned on repealing the healthcare insurance program altogether.

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“What we’ve said to the Democrats is that we’re willing to have a conversation about how to ensure that Americans continue to have access to healthcare, and frankly, they should have access to better healthcare at a lower cost,” Vance told reporters. “We inherited a mess of a healthcare system for the Biden administration. It’s why the president has worked so hard on the most favored nation status for prescription drugs. It’s why we care so much about lowering the cost of prescriptions, and why we’re doing everything else.”

Vance continued, “We’re willing to have that conversation. But I think it’s important to bracket the healthcare policy conversation because it’s separate from the government shutdown. We think that we can open the government and then have the conversation about the best healthcare policy to fit the needs of the American people. That’s all we’re trying to do. That’s all we’re trying to accomplish.”