:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2250722785-40e9c5f620264f15bd97078777985901.jpg "Trump Says He’ll Work With Democrats on Health Care—With Just Days Left")
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- Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire at the start of the new year, potentially causing the average premium for people on ACA plans to double.
- President Donald Trump said Thursday evening he would be “working together” with Democrats on health care.
- Republicans and Democrats have clashed bitterly over whether to extend the subsidies or replace them with health savings accounts.
President Donald Trump and lawmakers only have until a crucial deadline Monday to stop health care premiums from surging for millions of Americans.
Dec. 15 is the deadline to enroll or renew coverage in an Affordable Care Act health insurance plan to get covered by Jan. 1, and Jan. 15 is the deadline to sign up for the whole year. If the crucial subsidies are not renewed, the average health insurance premium for the 24 million people enrolled in an ACA plan would more than double to $1,904 in 2026 from $888 in 2025, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonprofit healthcare research group.
On top of that, 2.2 million people would likely lose their insurance altogether, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2024.
On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump suggested he would be willing to work with Democrats on health care.
“I think we’re going to start working together in health care,” he said in remarks at the Congressional Ball in Washington. “I really predict that.”
If Trump’s conciliatory remarks turn into actual negotiations, there are only a few days to follow through. Pandemic-era ACA premium subsidies are set to expire at the beginning of the year.
What This Means For The Economy
Health care costs are a major expense at a time when many households are struggling to deal with the steep cost-of-living increases since the pandemic. Higher premiums leave consumers with far less spending power to cover the necessities.
If the issue is not settled by Dec. 15, people seeking health coverage through an ACA plan will have to sign up for one with far higher premiums, without knowing whether an extension of the subsidies will ultimately reduce them.
Republicans and Democrats have clashed bitterly over what to do about the upcoming subsidy cliff in recent months. On Thursday, a Democrat-sponsored bill to extend the subsidies for three years was shot down by Senate Republicans despite four GOP members crossing the aisle to vote in favor of it. The same day, Democrats blocked a Republican bill to replace the subsidies with a combination of high-deductible insurance plans and health savings accounts.
The ACA subsidies were at the heart of the government shutdown in October and November: Democratic lawmakers had initially demanded an extension of ACA subsidies to reopen the government. They voted to end the shutdown after 43 days, when Republicans agreed to put the Democratic proposal to a vote.
