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2h ago

Shutdown Standoff Centers on ACA Subsidies as New Poll Shows Broad Support for Extension

The lapse of enhanced credits at year-end would drive steep premium increases and coverage losses, heightening pressure as open enrollment approaches.

Anne Parelkar
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., arrives to speak on the steps of the Capitol to insist that Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits as part of a government funding compromise, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, during a news conference in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol on Friday.
House Democrats prepare to speak on the steps of the Capitol to insist that Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits as part of a government funding compromise, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Overview

  • Democrats are blocking a short-term funding bill until Congress extends enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits and reverses recent Medicaid cuts, keeping the government closed into a third day.
  • Republican leaders insist on reopening the government before negotiating health policy, even as Wall Street Journal–cited reporting says Trump advisers worry about political fallout and have discussed extending the subsidies.
  • A new KFF poll finds 78% of Americans support extending the expiring credits, including 59% of Republicans and 57% of MAGA-aligned voters.
  • KFF estimates that subsidized enrollees could see average annual premiums jump 114% to $1,904 if the credits lapse, affecting roughly 22–24 million people and risking millions in coverage losses as enrollment begins Nov. 1.
  • Republicans cite cost projections of roughly $350 billion over a decade to oppose an extension, while independent experts reject GOP claims that Democrats are trying to fund coverage for undocumented immigrants, who are generally ineligible for ACA tax credits and full Medicaid.