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S. 2556

U.S. SenateIn Senate Committee

Summary

S. 2556, the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act, was introduced in the Senate on Jul 30, 2025 by Sen. Charles Schumer (D) with 46 co-sponsors. It was referred to Finance, and last saw action on Jul 30, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S4908).


Record

Text

S. 2556 has 46 co-sponsors.

sb2556/introduced-in-senate.txt
119 S2556 IS: Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act
U.S. Senate
2025-07-30
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
II
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2556
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2025
Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Wyden , Mr.
Merkley , Mrs. Shaheen ,
Ms. Hirono , Mr.
Welch , Ms. Duckworth ,
Mr. Hickenlooper , Mr. King , Mr.
Luján , Mr. Sanders , Mr. Reed , Mr. Van
Hollen , Mr. Peters , Mr. Blumenthal , Mrs.
Murray , Mr. Schatz , Mr. Whitehouse , Ms.
Warren , Mr. Warner , Mrs. Gillibrand , Mr.
Kaine , Mr. Schiff , Ms. Baldwin , Mr.
Markey , Mr. Coons , Ms. Alsobrooks , Mr.
Durbin , Mr. Padilla ,
Mr. Gallego , Ms.
Rosen , Mr. Warnock , Ms. Smith , Mr.
Kelly , Mr. Booker , Ms. Slotkin , Mr.
Bennet , Mr. Kim , Ms. Cortez Masto , Ms.
Cantwell , Ms. Klobuchar ,
Ms. Blunt Rochester , Mr. Heinrich , Mr.
Fetterman , Mr. Ossoff ,
Ms. Hassan , and Mr. Murphy ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on
Finance
A BILL
To repeal the changes made by the health subtitle of the One Big Beautiful
Bill Act, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act .
2.
Repeal of health subtitle changes
Subtitle B of title VII of the Act titled An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 ( Public Law 119–21 ) is repealed and any law or regulation referred to in such subtitle shall be applied as if such subtitle and the amendments made by such subtitle had not been enacted.
3.
Permanent extension of enhanced tax
credit
(a)
In general
Subparagraph (A) of section 36B(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking but does not exceed 400 percent .
(b)
Applicable percentages
(1)
In general
Subparagraph (A) of section 36B(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
(A)
Applicable percentage
The applicable percentage for any taxable year shall be the percentage such that the applicable percentage for any taxpayer whose household income is within an income tier specified in the following table shall increase, on a sliding scale in a linear manner, from the initial premium percentage to the final premium percentage specified in such table for such income tier:
In the case of household income
(expressed as a percent of poverty line)
within the following income tier:
The initial premium percentage is—
The final premium percentage is—
Up to 150
percent
0
0
150 percent up
to 200 percent
0
2.0
200 percent up
to 250 percent
2.0
4.0
250 percent up
to 300 percent
4.0
6.0
300 percent up
to 400 percent
6.0
8.5
400 percent and
higher
8.5
8.5.
.
(2)
Conforming amendments relating to affordability of coverage
(A)
Paragraph (1) of section 36B(c) of such Code is amended by striking subparagraph (E).
(B)
Subparagraph (C) of section 36B(c)(2) of such Code is amended by striking clause (iv).
(C)
Paragraph (4) of section 36B(c) of such Code is amended by striking subparagraph (F).
(c)
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-07-30
  2. Passed Senate
  3. Passed House
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in Senate Jul 30, 2025

sb2556/introduced-in-senate.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (07/30/2025)

Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act

This bill makes permanent temporary provisions that generally expand eligibility for and increase the amount of the premium tax credit. This bill also repeals multiple Medicaid, Medicare, and health-related tax provisions enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Currently, eligible taxpayers may claim the premium tax credit, which applies toward the cost of obtaining health insurance through health insurance exchanges. To qualify, a taxpayer’s household income must meet or exceed 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and, after 2025, may not exceed 400% of the FPL (maximum income limit). For 2021-2025, the maximum income limit is eliminated, which generally expands eligibility for the premium tax credit.

Further, under current law, the amount of the premium tax credit is partially based on the taxpayer’s household income multiplied by the applicable percentage. The applicable percentage varies depending on which of six income ranges (adjusted for inflation after 2025) the taxpayer’s household income falls within. For 2021-2025, the applicable percentages are lowered and the adjustment of the applicable percentages for inflation is eliminated, which generally increases the amount of the premium tax credit.

The bill permanently eliminates the 400% maximum income limit, lowers the applicable percentages, and eliminates the inflation adjustment for the applicable percentages.

Finally, the bill repeals multiple Medicaid, Medicare, and health-related tax provisions enacted by the OBBBA, including

  • certain Medicare and Medicare eligibility and verification requirements,
  • the reduced window for retroactive Medicaid coverage, and
  • premium tax credit verification requirements.

Sponsors

Sen. Charles Schumer (D) sponsors S. 2556, and 46 members have co-sponsored it, all of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

S. 2556 went before 1 committee: Finance.

Finance
Finance
Referred To · Jul 30, 2025 · 902 Bills

Actions

S. 2556 has taken 2 actions since Jul 30, 2025.

ChamberAction
Jul 30, 2025
Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S4908)Finance Committee
Jul 30, 2025
Introduced in Senate

Votes

S. 2556 has not gone to a roll call.

5 bills are related to S. 2556.

Titles

S. 2556 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act — Display Title
  • Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • A bill to repeal the changes made by the health subtitle of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

29 clients hired 26 firms and 146 registered lobbyists who named S. 2556 in 82 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Health Issues, Medicare/Medicaid, Budget/Appropriations, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Education, Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace, Government Issues, Pharmacy.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill. The 20 that filed most often, of 29.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONDistrict of Columbia16
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION CTW-CLCDistrict of Columbia15
NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR NURSINGNational health care associationDistrict of Columbia14$114.6K
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PEDIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONERSNational professional association for pediatric nurse practitionersNew Jersey14$96K
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSDistrict of Columbia14
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATIONDistrict of Columbia14
AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATIONMaryland14
AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATIONMaryland14
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF FLORIDA INCFlorida14
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS INCKansas14
GUIDEWELL MUTUAL HOLDING CORPORATIONFlorida14
HADASSAH, THE WOMEN'S ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC.New York14
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESSVirginia14
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICAREDistrict of Columbia14
VIZIENT INCDistrict of Columbia14
AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS INC (AHIP)District of Columbia13
ECONOMIC SECURITY PROJECT ACTION, INC. AND ITS AFFILIATESNew York13
NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER ACTION FUNDsocial welfare organization to promote equal rights and opportunities for womenDistrict of Columbia12
CONFERENCE OF PROVINCIALS OF NORTH AMERICAMissouri11$20K
MOVEON.ORG CIVIC ACTION501(c)(4) organization which focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on natl. issuesDistrict of Columbia11$20K

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 146.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS INC (AHIP)AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, INC. (AHIP)2026 first_quarter$5.3M1st Quarter - Report
AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS INC (AHIP)AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, INC. (AHIP)2025 fourth_quarter$4.1M4th Quarter - Report
AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS INC (AHIP)AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS, INC. (AHIP)2026 second_quarter$3M2nd Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2026 first_quarter$1.5M1st Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2025 fourth_quarter$1.4M4th Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2025 second_quarter$1.2M2nd Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2025 first_quarter$1.2M1st Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2025 third_quarter$1.2M3rd Quarter - Report
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATIONBLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION2026 second_quarter$990K2nd Quarter - Report
NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONNATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION2025 third_quarter$600K3rd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2026 first_quarter$490K1st Quarter - Report
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, INC.SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, INC.2026 second_quarter$480K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2025 fourth_quarter$450K4th Quarter - Report
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICACOMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA2026 second_quarter$431K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2025 third_quarter$430K3rd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERSAMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS2026 second_quarter$410K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATIONAMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION2025 third_quarter$410K3rd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATIONAMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION2026 second_quarter$400K2nd Quarter - Report
AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATIONAMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION2025 fourth_quarter$400K4th Quarter - Report
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNIONAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION2025 third_quarter$400K3rd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files S. 2556 under Taxation, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; S. 2556’s is Taxation.

s2556/policy-areas.txt
TaxationAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com