Democrats are ready to campaign on expired Obamacare subsidies [View all]
Source: Politico
01/02/2026 06:00 AM EST
Obamacare subsidies used by more than 20 million expired Thursday. Now Democrats are ready to make them a centerpiece of their midterm campaigns.
The lapse of enhanced premium tax credits, first passed as a pandemic-era relief measure under President Joe Biden in 2021, will immediately hit the pocketbooks of voters — some of whom will see their monthly insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars.
Efforts to extend them in some fashion continue on Capitol Hill, but Democratic lawmakers and strategists are already moving to turn the expiration of the subsidies into a potent election-year attack on congressional Republicans. They note that unlike other Democratic messaging targets — such as recent GOP Medicaid cuts that won’t kick in until after midterm ballots are cast — the lost tax credits are already tangible proof of what’s at stake on Election Day.
“The public now gets that the subsidies are what’s keeping health care costs down,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). “I think the public’s angry. So I think they will blame the party in charge.”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/02/democrats-obamacare-subsidies-midterms-00708576
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