Congressional Stalemate Creates Chaos for Obamacare Shoppers
This year, Affordable Care Act marketplace consumers will need to be more informed than ever to navigate their health coverage choices.
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This year, Affordable Care Act marketplace consumers will need to be more informed than ever to navigate their health coverage choices.
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating 鈥� even as customers are learning what they鈥檒l pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can鈥檛 pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers鈥� credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥� Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Even if Congress strikes a deal soon to extend more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies, the prices and types of ACA plans available could change dramatically. Unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval could cloud this year鈥檚 open enrollment season, which begins in most states on Saturday.
吃瓜不打烊 journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
Enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies have emerged as a flash point in the congressional standoff over the federal government shutdown. Republicans point to what they characterize as increasing amounts of fraud as a reason to hold up the subsidies. But there are two sides to the story.
吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on WAMU鈥檚 鈥淗ealth Hub鈥� to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting food benefits and the help many Americans get to offset their health insurance premiums.
The Trump administration says it鈥檚 developing a digital tool to help people prove they鈥檙e meeting new Medicaid work requirements. 吃瓜不打烊 talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new 鈥� or effective 鈥� technology.
KFF data shows that 2025 marked the first time in two decades that the annual cost of covering a family of four rose by 6% or more for three consecutive years.
A federal probe of Medicare and Medicaid plans run by private insurance companies found that the plan operators often overstated how many mental health providers were available in their networks. In some cases, investigators found providers had never had contracts with plans they were listed on.
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it鈥檚 not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.
Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊鈥� Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.
In Mississippi, a state with one of the highest obesity rates in the nation, Medicaid covers weight loss drugs, but few enrollees have signed up for the benefit.
Jessica Altman, the head of California鈥檚 Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace, warns letters will be sent out this week with sky-high premiums unless Washington extends covid-era enhanced tax credits by then. Even if Congress acts later and rates are lower than feared, she says, shoppers could be scared off.
吃瓜不打烊 journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
As contractors position themselves to cash in on a gush of new business managing Medicaid work requirements, a cadre of senators has launched an inquiry into the companies paid billions to build eligibility systems.
The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations 鈥� like for Medicare telehealth programs 鈥� is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥� Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.
Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend billions of dollars in federal tax credits that have dramatically lowered premiums and contributed to record-low rates of uninsured Americans. It鈥檚 a chance to talk about a winning issue 鈥� and maybe regain support from working-class voters.
Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are generally ineligible for federally funded health care programs. Democrats鈥� funding proposal would restore access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for legal immigrants who will lose access once certain provisions of the Republicans鈥� tax and spending law take effect.
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
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