Name: Millions in U.S. face soaring health costs as subsidies set to expire
Uploaded: 2025-12-11T01:29:44.306Z
Duration: 2 min 34 s
Description: Millions of Americans face soaring health insurance costs as Obamacare subsidies expire, with patients and hospitals bracing for impact.

Millions of Americans face soaring health insurance costs as Obamacare subsidies expire, with patients and hospitals bracing for impact.

Washington

Millions of Americans are facing a potential health care crisis as federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) are scheduled to expire on December 31. Without legislative action, health insurance premiums are set to increase dramatically, with some plans seeing costs double, triple, or even quadruple for the coming year.

The U.S. Senate is preparing to vote on whether to extend these subsidies, but political divisions remain, particularly as Republicans control both Congress and the White House. The end of the subsidies is expected to impact not only those on Obamacare but also hospitals and insurers, leading to higher costs across the health care system.

Millions in U.S. face soaring health costs as subsidies set to expire

For millions of Americans, a perfect storm of health care crises is coming. Gabriel earns too much to qualify for the U.S. government's Medicaid health insurance for the poor, but not enough to afford private insurance. If they offer me insurance, I have to pay $400. I cannot pay $400 on insurance. I can't. I just pay my rent, barely pay my rent, late, four days late. In the American health care system, a patchwork of public and private insurance, it's a common problem. The prices are higher because we don't have a single entity negotiating for the country with providers, with prescription drug manufacturers, with physicians, and that makes a big difference. That cost problem is about to get worse. Billions of dollars in federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, expire on December 31st, leaving millions of Americans facing massive health insurance cost hikes. And with the clock ticking down, Democrats on Capitol Hill are demanding an extension of the subsidies. But Republicans, who control the White House and Congress, remain divided over what to do about Obamacare, which polls show is popular, especially in Republican states. Now the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on whether to extend the subsidies. Without a change in law, costs for Obamacare are already skyrocketing for next year. People typically expect a 10% increase in premiums, but what we're seeing is that it's doubling, tripling, quadrupling. 24 million Americans use Obamacare for insurance. The average monthly premium for the most popular plan has already jumped 26% for next year. A standoff over ending the subsidies led to a record-long 43-day government shutdown. The end of ACA subsidies doesn't just mean higher rates for those with Obamacare. Hospitals like this will end up paying more to cover uninsured people who can't afford to pay out of pocket but still come in for emergency care. And insurers will have to charge higher rates to cover fewer numbers of people on their plans. All of these costs get passed on. And that makes the crisis for patients like Gabriel... Somebody has to do something. Somebody has to do something about it. Everyone's crisis. John Hendron, Al Jazeera, Santa Monica, California.

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