Congress returns from a spring recess on Monday.

In early March, President Joe Biden released his $6.8 trillion spending plan for fiscal 2024, complete with a proposal to permanently extend the generous healthcare insurance subsidies enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act passed in March 2021. Many Republicans are insisting on spending cuts, given the federal government's $31 trillion debt load.

They should start by trimming those health insurance subsidies. They represent billions in spending that taxpayers can't afford — especially since they're paying for coverage that's borderline useless for its beneficiaries. Consider that the American Rescue Plan Act made existing subsidies for coverage purchased through Obamacare's exchanges more generous and extended them for the first time to people making more than four times the federal poverty level — about $120,000 for a family of four. Last year's Inflation Reduction Act extended these enhanced subsidies through 2025.

Now, the White House wants to make them permanent, at a cost of nearly $183 billion over the next decade. All that money isn't buying much in the way of coverage. In 2019, nearly three-quarters of exchange plans had narrow provider networks that limited beneficiaries' choices of hospitals and doctors, according to an analysis by Avalere Health. A report published by the Government Accountability Office this past December found that 243 of 375 health plans reviewed by regulators were not up to federal network standards.

Enrollees with these plans may struggle to secure an appointment with an in-network doctor. They may have to travel long distances to find a provider who will see them. If the waits are too long, they may be forced to pay out of pocket for an out-of-network provider or forgo care altogether.

It makes little sense to lavish billions in taxpayer subsidies paid by hardworking taxpayers on insurers peddling (junk) health plans that are not helpful to people. As Congress begins hashing out next year's budget, these exchange subsidies should be among the first things to go.

Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute. Her latest book is False Premise, False Promise: The Disastrous Reality of Medicare for All (Encounter 2020). Follow her on Twitter @sallypipes.