WASHINGTON — As Republicans spent most of the year on legislation to drastically cut taxes for the wealthy and slash Medicaid, then took a weekslong break from Washington while the government was shut down, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) continually insisted they would be able to fix a looming spike in health care costs in December. “We have until the end of December to figure all that out,” Johnson told reporters in September. “That’s a December policy issue,” Johnson said in October. “