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Tag: Subsidies

  • How the White House and governors want to fix AI-driven power shortages and price spikes

    The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.

    The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants,

    The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg.

    “Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to be at the White House, a person familiar with Shapiro’s plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Shapiro, a Democrat, made his participation in Friday’s event contingent on including a provision to extend a limit on wholesale electricity price increases for the region’s consumers, the person said.

    But the operator of the grid won’t be there. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” said spokesperson Jeff Shields.

    It was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump would attend the event, which was not listed on his public schedule.

    Trump and the governors are under pressure to insulate consumers and businesses alike from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, more Americans are falling behind on their electricity bills.

    Consumer advocates say ratepayers in the mid-Atlantic electricity grid — which encompasses all or parts of 13 states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. — are already paying billions of dollars in higher bills to underwrite the cost to supply power to data centers, some of them built, some not.

    However, they also say that the billions of dollars that consumers are paying isn’t resulting in the construction of new power plants necessary to meet the rising demand.

    Pivotal contests in November will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill for the data centers that underpin the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence. In parts of the country, data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built and connected to the grid.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in last year’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    Gas and electric utilities sought or won rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period a year earlier.

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  • How the White House and governors want to fix AI-driven power shortages and price spikes

    The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.

    The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants,

    The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg.

    “Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to be at the White House, a person familiar with Shapiro’s plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Shapiro, a Democrat, made his participation in Friday’s event contingent on including a provision to extend a limit on wholesale electricity price increases for the region’s consumers, the person said.

    But the operator of the grid won’t be there. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” said spokesperson Jeff Shields.

    It was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump would attend the event, which was not listed on his public schedule.

    Trump and the governors are under pressure to insulate consumers and businesses alike from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, more Americans are falling behind on their electricity bills.

    Consumer advocates say ratepayers in the mid-Atlantic electricity grid — which encompasses all or parts of 13 states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. — are already paying billions of dollars in higher bills to underwrite the cost to supply power to data centers, some of them built, some not.

    However, they also say that the billions of dollars that consumers are paying isn’t resulting in the construction of new power plants necessary to meet the rising demand.

    Pivotal contests in November will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill for the data centers that underpin the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence. In parts of the country, data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built and connected to the grid.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in last year’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    Gas and electric utilities sought or won rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period a year earlier.

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  • House votes on health insurance subsidies as Senate debates military powers

    It’s the first week of a new year for Congress, and each chamber is considering legislation with votes to watch on Thursday.Enhanced Health Care SubsidiesThe House of Representatives is voting on a bill to reinstate tax credits that expired last year and were central to the government shutdown.The bill aims to extend these subsidies for three years, helping those without insurance through their employers pay for coverage. Four Republicans: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1st), Rep. Ryan McKenzie (PA-7th), Rep. Rob Bresnahan (PA-8th), and Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17th) joined Democrats to push the vote, which is expected to pass. Five more Republicans joined Democrats during a test vote on Wednesday.However, the Senate is not expected to consider this bill, as they are working on their own Affordable Care Act reform measure designed to pass both chambers.Venezuela War Powers ResolutionThe Senate is revisiting a war powers resolution that would prevent the president from using military force in Venezuela without congressional approval. This follows a recent military operation in Venezuela’s capital, which led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are now in New York facing narcoterrorism charges. President Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. is running Venezuela and may deploy the military again if the remaining Maduro regime does not comply with U.S. demands.The same resolution failed a previous vote, as well as a measure to stop the Trump administration from bombing alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that the White House says were connected to Venezuela. Past administrations arrested and charged such suspects. The Trump administration’s campaign has killed more than 100 people.Reactions To Greenland RhetoricThe White House’s suggestion to use military force to take over Greenland has been met with criticism on Capitol Hill. Democrats have long opposed this idea, and several Republicans have recently spoken out against it.Rep. Mike Johnson, House Speaker, said, “All this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t even think that’s a possibility.” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina criticized the notion, saying, “Making insane comments about how it is our right to have territory owned by the kingdom of Denmark, folks, amateur hour is over.” Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana noted, “In the case of Greenland, you have two things: one, not a present threat, and so they have a duly elected president. So, he doesn’t have the authority without Congress.”Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska added, “It’s very… amateurish. I feel like we’ve got high school kids playing Risk.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also stated that the president wants to buy Greenland.Earlier this week, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Hearst Television: “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:

    WASHINGTON —

    It’s the first week of a new year for Congress, and each chamber is considering legislation with votes to watch on Thursday.

    Enhanced Health Care Subsidies

    The House of Representatives is voting on a bill to reinstate tax credits that expired last year and were central to the government shutdown.

    The bill aims to extend these subsidies for three years, helping those without insurance through their employers pay for coverage. Four Republicans: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1st), Rep. Ryan McKenzie (PA-7th), Rep. Rob Bresnahan (PA-8th), and Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17th) joined Democrats to push the vote, which is expected to pass. Five more Republicans joined Democrats during a test vote on Wednesday.

    However, the Senate is not expected to consider this bill, as they are working on their own Affordable Care Act reform measure designed to pass both chambers.

    Venezuela War Powers Resolution

    The Senate is revisiting a war powers resolution that would prevent the president from using military force in Venezuela without congressional approval. This follows a recent military operation in Venezuela’s capital, which led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who are now in New York facing narcoterrorism charges.

    President Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. is running Venezuela and may deploy the military again if the remaining Maduro regime does not comply with U.S. demands.

    The same resolution failed a previous vote, as well as a measure to stop the Trump administration from bombing alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that the White House says were connected to Venezuela. Past administrations arrested and charged such suspects. The Trump administration’s campaign has killed more than 100 people.

    Reactions To Greenland Rhetoric

    The White House’s suggestion to use military force to take over Greenland has been met with criticism on Capitol Hill. Democrats have long opposed this idea, and several Republicans have recently spoken out against it.

    Rep. Mike Johnson, House Speaker, said, “All this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t even think that’s a possibility.”

    Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina criticized the notion, saying, “Making insane comments about how it is our right to have territory owned by the kingdom of Denmark, folks, amateur hour is over.”

    Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana noted, “In the case of Greenland, you have two things: one, not a present threat, and so they have a duly elected president. So, he doesn’t have the authority without Congress.”

    Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska added, “It’s very… amateurish. I feel like we’ve got high school kids playing Risk.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also stated that the president wants to buy Greenland.

    Earlier this week, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Hearst Television: “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”

    Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:


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  • House Takes Step Toward Extending Affordable Care Act Subsidies, Overpowering GOP Leadership

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Overpowering Speaker Mike Johnson, a bipartisan coalition in the House voted Wednesday to push forward a measure that would revive an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but that had expired last month.

    The tally of 221-205 was a key test before passage of the bill, which is expected Thursday. And it came about because four GOP centrist lawmakers joined with Democrats in signing a so-called discharge petition to force the vote. After last year’s government shutdown failed to resolve the issue, they said doing nothing was not an option as many of their constituents faced soaring health insurance premiums beginning this month.

    Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, one of the Republicans who crossed party lines to back the Democratic proposal, portrayed it as a vehicle senators could use to reach a compromise.

    “No matter the issue, if the House puts forward relatively strong, bipartisan support, it makes it easier for the senators to get there,” Lawler said.


    Republicans go around their leaders

    If ultimately successful in the House this week, the voting would show there is bipartisan support for a proposed three-year extension of the tax credits that are available for those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The action forcing a vote has been an affront to Johnson and GOP leaders who essentially lost control of their House majority as the renegade lawmakers joined Democrats for the workaround.

    But the Senate is under no requirement to take up the bill.

    Instead, a small group of members from both parties are working on an alternative plan that could find support in both chambers and become law. One proposal would be to shorten the extension of the subsidy to two years and make changes to the program.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said any plan passing muster in the Senate will need to have income limits to ensure that it’s focused on those who most need the help and that beneficiaries would have to at least pay a nominal amount for their coverage.

    That way, he said, “insurance companies can’t game the system and auto-enroll people.” Finally, Thune said there would need to be some expansion of health savings accounts, which allow people to save money and withdraw it tax-free as long as the money is spent on qualified medical expenses.


    Democrats are pressing the issue

    It’s unclear the negotiations will yield a bill that the Senate will take up. Democrats are making clear that the higher health insurance costs many Americans are facing will be a political centerpiece of their efforts to retake the majority in the House and Senate in the fall elections.

    Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who led his party’s effort to push the health care issue forward, particularly challenged Republicans in competitive congressional districts to join if they really wanted to prevent steep premium increases for their constituents. Before Wednesday’s vote, he called on colleagues to “address the health care crisis in this country and make sure that tens of millions of people have the ability to go see a doctor when they need one.”

    Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, all from Pennsylvania, and Lawler signed the Democrats’ petition, pushing it to the magic number of 218 needed to force a House vote. All four represent key swing districts whose races will help determine which party takes charge of the House next year.

    Johnson, R-La., had discussed allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on bills that would temporarily extend the subsidies while also adding changes such as income caps for beneficiaries. But after days of discussions, the leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the party’s conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed program.

    Lawmakers turn to discharge petitions to show support for an action and potentially force a vote on the House floor, but they are rarely successful. This session of Congress has proven an exception.

    A vote requiring the Department of Justice to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, for instance, occurred after Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a petition on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The signature effort was backed by all House Democrats and four Republicans.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – December 2025

    Associated Press

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  • Trump Tells Republicans to Be ‘Flexible’ on Abortion Restrictions to Get a Health Care Deal

    President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants Republicans to reach a deal on health care insurance assistance by being willing to bend on a 50-year-old amendment that bars federal money from being spent on abortion services.

    “You have to be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, Trump told House Republicans as they gathered in Washington for a caucus retreat to open the midterm election year. “You gotta be a little flexible. You gotta work something. You gotta use ingenuity.”

    With his suggestion, Trump, who supported abortion rights before he entered politics in 2015, is asking conservatives to abandon or at least ease up on decades of Republican orthodoxy on abortion and spending policy. At the same time, he is demonstrating his long-standing malleability on abortion and acknowledging that Democrats have the political upper hand on health care after Republicans, who control the White House, the Senate and the House, allowed the expiration of premium subsidies for people buying Affordable Care Act insurance policies.

    As negotiations on Capitol Hill continue, some Democrats are pushing to end the Hyde restrictions as part of any new agreements on health care subsidies.

    Trump’s road map on the Hyde Amendment came more than an hour into a stem-winding speech intended as a part strategy session and part cheerleading as Republicans attempt to maintain their threadbare House majority in the November midterms.

    The president touted the House GOP proposal to replace ACA subsidies — which taxpayers typically steer directly to insurance companies after selecting their policies — into direct payments that taxpayers could use for a range of health care expenses, including insurance. The expanded ACA subsidies expired on Dec. 31, 2025, hitting millions of policy holders with steep premium increases.

    “Let the money go directly to the people,” Trump said, before casually slipping in a reference to the Hyde Amendment.

    “We’re all big fans of everything,” he said. “But you have to have flexibility.”

    Turning directly to GOP leaders, Trump added, “If you can do that, you’re going to have — this is going to be your issue.”

    But the GOP faces considerable pressure from parts of its coalition that want absolute opposition to any policy that might ease abortion restrictions.

    At Americans United for Life, a leading advocacy group that opposes abortion rights, Gavin Oxley penned an op-ed this week for “The Hill” titled, “Republicans must hold the line: No Hyde Amendment, no deal on health care.”

    “If they play their cards right,” Oxley wrote, “Republicans just might earn back enough of their base’s trust to sustain them through the 2026 midterms.”

    The Hyde Amendment, named for the late Rep. Henry Hyde, originally applied to Medicaid, the joint federal-state insurance program for poor and disabled Americans, and barred it from paying for abortions unless the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Hyde first introduced it in 1976, shortly after the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.

    Over the years, Congress reauthorized Hyde policy as part of spending bills that fund the government. Democrats who support abortion access often joined Republicans who opposed abortion rights as a bipartisan compromise to pass larger spending deals. But as the two parties hardened their respective positions on abortion, Democrats became more uniform opponents of the ban, most famously when presidential candidate Joe Biden reversed his long-standing support for Hyde on his way to winning the 2020 Democratic nomination and general election.

    Republicans, meanwhile, have maintained their near absolute support for the amendment.

    The anti-abortion movement was initially skeptical of Trump as a presidential candidate in 2015 and 2016. But he has mostly aligned with the key faction of the Republican coalition, especially on Supreme Court appointments that led to the 2022 decision overturning Roe.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – December 2025

    Associated Press

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  • Health subsidies expire, launching millions of Americans into 2026 with steep insurance hikes

    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year.

    Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to save their 2026 political aspirations. President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash.

    In the end, no one’s efforts were enough to save the subsidies before their expiration date. A House vote expected in January could offer another chance, but success is far from guaranteed.

    The change affects a diverse cross-section of Americans who don’t get their health insurance from an employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — a group that includes many self-employed workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers.

    It comes at the start of a high-stakes midterm election year, with affordability — including the cost of health care — topping the list of voters’ concerns.

    “It really bothers me that the middle class has moved from a squeeze to a full suffocation, and they continue to just pile on and leave it up to us,” said 37-year-old single mom Katelin Provost, whose health care costs are set to jump. “I’m incredibly disappointed that there hasn’t been more action.”

    The expired subsidies were first given to Affordable Care Act enrollees in 2021 as a temporary measure to help Americans get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats in power at the time extended them, moving the expiration date to the start of 2026.

    With the expanded subsidies, some lower-income enrollees received health care with no premiums, and high earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income. Eligibility for middle-class earners was also expanded.

    On average, the more than 20 million subsidized enrollees in the Affordable Care Act program are seeing their premium costs rise by 114% in 2026, according to an analysis by the health care research nonprofit KFF.

    Those surging prices come alongside an overall increase in health costs in the U.S., which are further driving up out-of-pocket costs in many plans.

    Some enrollees, like Salt Lake City freelance filmmaker and adjunct professor Stan Clawson, have absorbed the extra expense. Clawson said he was paying just under $350 a month for his premiums last year, a number that will jump to nearly $500 a month this year. It’s a strain for the 49-year-old but one he’s willing to take on because he needs health insurance as someone who lives with paralysis from a spinal cord injury.

    Others, like Provost, are dealing with steeper hikes. The social worker’s monthly premium payment is increasing from $85 a month to nearly $750.

    Health analysts have predicted the expiration of the subsidies will drive many of the 24 million total Affordable Care Act enrollees — especially younger and healthier Americans — to forgo health insurance coverage altogether.

    Over time, that could make the program more expensive for the older, sicker population that remains.

    An analysis conducted last September by the Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund projected the higher premiums from expiring subsidies would prompt some 4.8 million Americans to drop coverage in 2026.

    But with the window to select and change plans still ongoing until Jan. 15 in most states, the final effect on enrollment is yet to be determined.

    Provost, the single mother, said she is holding out hope that Congress finds a way to revive the subsidies early in the year — but if not, she’ll drop herself off the insurance and keep it only for her four-year-old daughter. She can’t afford to pay for both of their coverage at the current price.

    Last year, after Republicans cut more than $1 trillion in federal health care and food assistance with Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill, Democrats repeatedly called for the subsidies to be extended. But while some Republicans in power acknowledged the issue needed to be addressed, they refused to put it to a vote until late in the year.

    In December, the Senate rejected two partisan health care bills — a Democratic pitch to extend the subsidies for three more years and a Republican alternative that would instead provide Americans with health savings accounts.

    In the House, four centrist Republicans broke with GOP leadership and joined forces with Democrats to force a vote that could come as soon as January on a three-year extension of the tax credits. But with the Senate already having rejected such a plan, it’s unclear whether it could get enough momentum to pass.

    Meanwhile, Americans whose premiums are skyrocketing say lawmakers don’t understand what it’s really like to struggle to get by as health costs ratchet up with no relief.

    Many say they want the subsidies restored alongside broader reforms to make health care more affordable for all Americans.

    “Both Republicans and Democrats have been saying for years, oh, we need to fix it. Then do it,” said Chad Bruns, a 58-year-old Affordable Care Act enrollee in Wisconsin. “They need to get to the root cause, and no political party ever does that.”

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  • Five things to know about the Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies

    The cost of health insurance is set to surge for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act at the start of the new year without the extension of expanded tax credits.The expanded subsidies were at the center of the 42-day government shutdown that ended in November. Now just days away from the new year, premiums are set to increase without an extension or resolution from Congress.The Get the Facts Data Team analyzed and aggregated statistics to know ahead of the rise in premiums in the new year.Premiums could rise on average 114%Premiums would more than double if the tax subsidies were to expire, according to an analysis from KFF. In addition to the potential ending of the subsidies, insurance rates are projected to rise across marketplace plans and employer-provided insurance.A one-person household with an annual income of $25,000 – a little more than 1.5 times the federal poverty level – is estimated to go from paying a maximum $100 out of pocket annually to $1,168.They would pay a maximum of less than $98 a month — 10 times more than the previous payment of less than $9 a month.The interactive below shows how the maximum out-of-pocket rates for benchmark plans may change if expanded subsidies expire for one, two and four-person households at various incomes. Estimates were calculated using maximum out-of-pocket rates from KFF published by the IRS, along with 2025 federal poverty level data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 48 contiguous states plus D.C.The tool is not intended to calculate an individual’s actual payments. Healthcare.gov and other state marketplaces are the best source for specific premium costs.People closer to retirement age or with higher incomes could see the largest impactOnce the expanded tax credits expire at the end of this year, the out-of-pocket maximums will increase across the board, and people making above four times the poverty level will become ineligible for any tax credits.More than 6.7% of those who were enrolled in ACA plans earned more than 400% of the federal poverty level, accounting for 1.6 million people. Once the subsidies expire, these enrollees would no longer qualify for the subsidies under the ACA.Also heavily impacted are people approaching retirement age. The age group with the highest enrollment in marketplace plans is ages 55 to 64, data shows.KFF estimated in March that about half the enrollees who would lose the tax credit upon expiration are between 50 and 64.Premiums for individuals closer to retirement age and making more than 400% of the federal poverty level would also increase more compared to younger enrollees. Take a 30-year-old, a 45-year-old, and a 60-year-old earning $62,756 in a single household – 401% of the poverty level.Without the tax credits, the 30-year-old would see a $110 jump in the monthly premium for a silver plan, according to KFF’s ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credit calculator. The 60-year-old would see an $881-per-month increase without the enhanced subsidies.24 million people are enrolled in plans under the Affordable Care ActThe subsidies are utilized by about 92% of the 24 million people enrolled in marketplace plans under the ACA, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.These expanded credits allow households of different sizes and income levels to be capped with maximum out-of-pocket costs.From 2020 to 2025, enrollment more than doubled as a result of expanded tax credits in the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, which increased the subsidies and lifted a cap that disqualified people making four times the poverty level or more from being eligible for the subsidies.Under 2025 guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the federal poverty level is $15,650 for a one-person household. At 400%, it’s $62,600.Six states have more than tripled in ACA enrollees since 2020There was a widespread increase in enrollment across states in the past five years.The six states that have more than tripled in enrollees since 2020 are Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. There were 14 states that more than doubled in enrollment. Just three places — including Washington, D.C. — declined in enrollment, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.Expired subsidies take effect Jan. 1Even though new insurance premiums would take effect in the new year, a retroactive extension could be passed in 2026.However, it would be complicated and would continue to grow more complicated over time, according to KFF. More enrollees may drop insurance in the meantime. In a KFF survey, a quarter of enrollees indicated they would go without health insurance if the cost of current coverage doubled. About a third said they’d look for a lower premium plan.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=

    WASHINGTON —

    The cost of health insurance is set to surge for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act at the start of the new year without the extension of expanded tax credits.

    The expanded subsidies were at the center of the 42-day government shutdown that ended in November. Now just days away from the new year, premiums are set to increase without an extension or resolution from Congress.

    The Get the Facts Data Team analyzed and aggregated statistics to know ahead of the rise in premiums in the new year.

    Premiums could rise on average 114%

    Premiums would more than double if the tax subsidies were to expire, according to an analysis from KFF.

    In addition to the potential ending of the subsidies, insurance rates are projected to rise across marketplace plans and employer-provided insurance.

    A one-person household with an annual income of $25,000 – a little more than 1.5 times the federal poverty level – is estimated to go from paying a maximum $100 out of pocket annually to $1,168.

    They would pay a maximum of less than $98 a month — 10 times more than the previous payment of less than $9 a month.

    The interactive below shows how the maximum out-of-pocket rates for benchmark plans may change if expanded subsidies expire for one, two and four-person households at various incomes. Estimates were calculated using maximum out-of-pocket rates from KFF published by the IRS, along with 2025 federal poverty level data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 48 contiguous states plus D.C.

    The tool is not intended to calculate an individual’s actual payments. Healthcare.gov and other state marketplaces are the best source for specific premium costs.

    People closer to retirement age or with higher incomes could see the largest impact

    Once the expanded tax credits expire at the end of this year, the out-of-pocket maximums will increase across the board, and people making above four times the poverty level will become ineligible for any tax credits.

    More than 6.7% of those who were enrolled in ACA plans earned more than 400% of the federal poverty level, accounting for 1.6 million people. Once the subsidies expire, these enrollees would no longer qualify for the subsidies under the ACA.

    Also heavily impacted are people approaching retirement age. The age group with the highest enrollment in marketplace plans is ages 55 to 64, data shows.

    KFF estimated in March that about half the enrollees who would lose the tax credit upon expiration are between 50 and 64.

    Premiums for individuals closer to retirement age and making more than 400% of the federal poverty level would also increase more compared to younger enrollees. Take a 30-year-old, a 45-year-old, and a 60-year-old earning $62,756 in a single household – 401% of the poverty level.

    Without the tax credits, the 30-year-old would see a $110 jump in the monthly premium for a silver plan, according to KFF’s ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credit calculator.

    The 60-year-old would see an $881-per-month increase without the enhanced subsidies.

    24 million people are enrolled in plans under the Affordable Care Act

    The subsidies are utilized by about 92% of the 24 million people enrolled in marketplace plans under the ACA, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

    These expanded credits allow households of different sizes and income levels to be capped with maximum out-of-pocket costs.

    From 2020 to 2025, enrollment more than doubled as a result of expanded tax credits in the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, which increased the subsidies and lifted a cap that disqualified people making four times the poverty level or more from being eligible for the subsidies.

    Under 2025 guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the federal poverty level is $15,650 for a one-person household. At 400%, it’s $62,600.

    Six states have more than tripled in ACA enrollees since 2020

    There was a widespread increase in enrollment across states in the past five years.

    The six states that have more than tripled in enrollees since 2020 are Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. There were 14 states that more than doubled in enrollment.

    Just three places — including Washington, D.C. — declined in enrollment, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

    Expired subsidies take effect Jan. 1

    Even though new insurance premiums would take effect in the new year, a retroactive extension could be passed in 2026.

    However, it would be complicated and would continue to grow more complicated over time, according to KFF.

    More enrollees may drop insurance in the meantime. In a KFF survey, a quarter of enrollees indicated they would go without health insurance if the cost of current coverage doubled. About a third said they’d look for a lower premium plan.

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  • Workers organized by a key union rally in Bolivia against scrapping fuel subsidies

    LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivian miners marched in downtown La Paz, the country’s capital, and union-organized protesters took to the streets elsewhere on Monday, the first day of a strike over the government’s scrapping of fuel subsidies that have been blamed for contributing to dollar shortages and economic turmoil.

    The protests were called for by Bolivia’s Central Union of Workers but many trade groups, including transportation workers, did not join the rallies. Some union leaders said they would go along with the elimination of the subsidies, which had been in place for almost two decades.

    Bolivia’s centrist President Rodrigo Paz, who took office on Nov. 8, ended the fuel subsidy that previous left-wing governments had maintained for more than 20 years, keeping gas prices at $0.53 per liter. An emergency decree by Paz last week put the price of gasoline at around $1 per liter.

    “The country is sick and must be healed,” Paz said on Sunday in a town hall meeting that was broadcast on state television.

    “Every day, $10 million is spent on a subsidy that benefits smugglers” who resell the subsidized fuel in Bolivia and abroad, Paz added.

    Business groups in Bolivia have backed Paz’s new economic measures, which are expected to ease dollar shortages and make it easier for companies to import goods and capital.

    “We knew that at some point the subsidies would end” said Luis Paco, a union leader representing merchants in the city of El Alto. “There were no negotiations over the new adjustments, but we knew this was inevitable.”

    Bus drivers unions stayed away from Monday’s protests after Bolivia’s government said they will be able to import auto parts duty-free. Paz has also mandated a 20% increase in the minimum wage.

    Imports of gasoline and diesel — costing the government up to $3 billion a year — had depleted foreign currency reserves and worsened Bolivia’s biggest economic crisis in four decades, following the decline of the nation’s natural gas exports.

    But unions that have traditionally aligned with left-wing political leaders — including those representing miners and coca growers — went on strike on Monday, demanding that fuel subsidies be reinstated.

    La Paz police sealed off access to the central square where the palace housing the government is located, to prevent demonstrators from entering.

    In the neighboring city of El Alto, local councils blocked some avenues. There were also road blocks on highways in six of the country’s nine regions, according to Bolivia’s highway administration agency.

    “We are in the streets in a struggle that will continue until that decree eliminating the subsidy is repealed,” mining leader Andrés Paye told reporters. “This government approves regulations to favor business owners and punish the poor.”

    Unions aligned with former President Evo Morales, led a massive march in Cochabamba, the Andean country’s third-largest city, and blocked two major highways in the east of the country.

    The bus drivers unions did not join the strike, after negotiating over the weekend with Paz’s new government.

    “We will continue to work, to serve the people” said Lucio Gomez, a leader of a transport workers union.

    Carlos Cordero, a political science professor in La Paz, said the union behind the strike was trying to “show its strength” ahead of next year’s elections for governors and mayors. But the relatively low turnout on Monday showed that the union has been weakened, he said.

    “In many sectors of the country, there is a conviction that the adjustment was necessary” Cordero said.

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  • China to impose up to 42.7% provisional tariffs on EU dairy products

    HONG KONG — China will impose up to 42.7% of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the European Union, its Commerce Ministry said Monday.

    The elevated duties, which take effect Tuesday, were based on preliminary results from an investigation opened by China’s Commerce Ministry in August 2024 as tensions between Beijing and Brussels flared. Beijing reviewed subsidies provided by EU countries for their dairy and other farm products.

    Beijing’s probe was launched as part of tit-for-tat measures as the EU investigated Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles, and later imposed tariffs as high as 45.3% on China-made EVs.

    China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as counter measures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese EVs. It had also urged the EU to scrap its EV tariffs.

    The temporary duties on EU dairy imports will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, according to the Commerce Ministry, and will cover a basket of dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, blue cheese, milk, and cream with a fat content exceeding 10% by weight.

    The ministry said preliminary findings from its investigation determined that subsidies provided by the EU and EU member states for their dairy products had damaged China’s dairy industry.

    Beijing’s probe into EU dairy products covered subsidies given under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and subsidies offered to farmers by EU countries including Italy, Ireland and Finland, the Commerce Ministry said in August 2024.

    China’s relationship with the EU is fractious, with the Chinese trade surplus with the EU recently coming into the spotlight. The EU runs a significant trade deficit with China, at more than 300 billion euros ($352 billion) last year.

    Last week, Beijing announced it was imposing up to 19.8% tariffs on EU pork imports — significantly lower than preliminary tariffs of up to 62.4%.

    It accused the EU of dumping pork and pig by-products in the country, selling them at cheap prices which in turn harmed its domestic pork industry.

    In July, Beijing also announced up to 34.9% tariffs on brandy imported from the EU — including cognac from France — although several major brandy brands had received exemptions.

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  • China to Impose up to 42.7% Provisional Tariffs on EU Dairy Products

    HONG KONG (AP) — China will impose up to 42.7% of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the European Union, its Commerce Ministry said Monday.

    The elevated duties, which take effect Tuesday, were based on preliminary results from an investigation opened by China’s Commerce Ministry in August 2024 as tensions between Beijing and Brussels flared. Beijing reviewed subsidies provided by EU countries for their dairy and other farm products.

    Beijing’s probe was launched as part of tit-for-tat measures as the EU investigated Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles, and later imposed tariffs as high as 45.3% on China-made EVs.

    China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as counter measures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese EVs. It had also urged the EU to scrap its EV tariffs.

    The temporary duties on EU dairy imports will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, according to the Commerce Ministry, and will cover a basket of dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, blue cheese, milk, and cream with a fat content exceeding 10% by weight.

    The ministry said preliminary findings from its investigation determined that subsidies provided by the EU and EU member states for their dairy products had damaged China’s dairy industry.

    Beijing’s probe into EU dairy products covered subsidies given under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and subsidies offered to farmers by EU countries including Italy, Ireland and Finland, the Commerce Ministry said in August 2024.

    China’s relationship with the EU is fractious, with the Chinese trade surplus with the EU recently coming into the spotlight. The EU runs a significant trade deficit with China, at more than 300 billion euros ($352 billion) last year.

    Last week, Beijing announced it was imposing up to 19.8% tariffs on EU pork imports — significantly lower than preliminary tariffs of up to 62.4%.

    It accused the EU of dumping pork and pig by-products in the country, selling them at cheap prices which in turn harmed its domestic pork industry.

    In July, Beijing also announced up to 34.9% tariffs on brandy imported from the EU — including cognac from France — although several major brandy brands had received exemptions.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Regulators Approve DTE Contracts for Michigan’s First Hyperscale Data Center

    Despite criticism that they were acting too fast, state utility regulators on Thursday approved DTE Energy’s proposal to supply power for Michigan’s first hyperscale data center — while tacking on a host of conditions that aim to protect ratepayers from subsidizing the facility.

    The approval, made over shouts of disapproval from onlookers gathered in a Lansing conference room, drew cheers from business interests and ire from skeptics who had called for a deeper public review of the 19-year deal.

    Defending the decision, Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps told the gathered crowd that after reviewing them in detail, “I would put the contracts that are in front of us today on par or better with any that have been approved in the country.”

    He and other commissioners said they had concluded the deal would save ratepayers money and would not sacrifice energy reliability.

    But a wave of public speakers lined up to condemn the vote, raising concerns about lost farmland and habitat, rising power rates, climate pollution from fossil fuels used to power the facilities and additional pollution from the water used to cool servers.

    “We won’t be happy, I suppose, until the Great Lakes run dry, until the farmlands all are gone, until all the air is polluted, said Tim Bruneau, a Saline Township resident who has vocally opposed the 1.4-gigawatt facility planned by tech firms Oracle, OpenAI and Related Digital.

    “And guess what happens when that happens? We’re extinct.”

    The decision paves the way for tech firms OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital to team up on Michigan’s first hyperscale data center, a $7 billion Stargate facility where massive buildings full of computer servers will train artificial intelligence models on a 575-acre site south of Ann Arbor in Saline Township.

    In a statement, DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry lauded the commission’s order, saying the contracts “protect our customers — including ensuring that there will be no stranded assets — while enabling Michigan’s growth.”

    Supporters of the project have hailed it as an economic development win for the state that will produce millions annually in taxes and 450 permanent jobs. Opponents contend that’s not a sufficient return, citing the risks that energy-hungry data centers could pose to Michigan’s environment and energy grid.

    The facilities are massive energy users — the Stargate project’s expected 1.4 gigawatts of demand is equivalent to that of a large American city.

    The commission’s decision came amid anxiety that residential ratepayers could wind up subsidizing the substations, poles, wires, battery storage facilities and other infrastructure needed to deliver all that power.

    But commissioners agreed with DTE’s conclusion that the deal with Oracle subsidiary Green Chile Ventures would actually save ratepayers $300 million annually, by tapping the tech firm to pay for battery storage and other costs to connect it to the grid.

    “That is a real cost savings at a time when affordability is so important,” said commissioner Katherine Peretick.

    The decision comes weeks after DTE filed a proposed contract with the MPSC, asking regulators to quickly approve the terms without a public hearing. Such ex-parte decisions are allowed when a contract won’t affect other utility customers’ rates

    But Attorney General Dana Nessel and other skeptics of the deal had called for a deeper review, contending that the publicly visible version of DTE’s proposed deal was so heavily redacted, it was impossible to vet DTE’s claims of affordability.

    Commissioners tacked on a host of conditions to their approval, giving DTE 30 days to agree to them. Among the most significant, DTE must agree to absorb the financial hit if, for whatever reason, the projected $300 million cost savings fails to materialize.

    “If the affordability analysis turns out to be overly optimistic for any reason, DTE bears the responsibility of any extra costs,” Peretick said.

    Other requirements include:

      1. In the event of an electricity shortage, the data center must be curtailed before other electric customers.

      2. DTE must file a host of documents showing how it will pay for data center related costs without subsidies from other customers. That includes renewable energy that, under Michigan’s clean energy law, must eventually be installed to serve the facility.

      3. Within 90 days, DTE must file an application for a standard rate structure applying to major power users like hyperscale data centers, which would eliminate the need for one-off contract requests like the one DTE filed for the Stargate project.

      4. DTE must file quarterly reports tracking the data center’s power demand and an annual report assessing Green Chile’s finances.

    Scripps said the contract terms and additional conditions set by commissioners “led us to believe that we could meet the standard of reasonableness and in the public interest.”

    The data center’s projected power demand would increase DTE’s electric load by 25%. DTE officials plan to absorb that surge without building new power plants. Instead, the utility will buy energy on the open market and get more use out of its existing power plants, including using them to charge the batteries during off-peak hours when other customers aren’t using much energy.

    DTE has told investors it aims to bring on as much as 8.4 gigawatts of total data center load in the coming years, a projection that would nearly double the utility’s total power demand.

    Consumers Energy, meanwhile, is projecting 2.65 gigawatts in new demand from data centers by 2035, a 35% increase in peak demand.

    Concerns that the utilities could pollute or overtax Michigan’s water and electricity systems have resulted in bipartisan pushback, including a new bill to repeal the recently enacted tax exemptions that have lured the industry to Michigan.

    Industry supporters, meanwhile, contend Michigan risks falling behind economically if it refuses to host the booming hyperscale industry. While data centers provide few jobs, they contend the facilities are the lynchpin of a broader tech economy in which Michigan is struggling to compete.

    “Michigan needs to decide if it wants to participate in the 21st Century economy, or rest on those who came before us and spend that wealth down,” said Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah. He cast it as a race in which “Michigan already has ground to make up.”

    Since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a 6% sales and use tax exemption that could save hyperscale facilities millions if not tens of millions annually, Michigan’s publicly announced hyperscale proposals have skyrocketed from zero to at least 15.

    Some localities have enacted moratoriums on data center development, looking to buy time to craft regulations governing noise, road setbacks and other concerns about the facilities. In Saline Township, meanwhile, a resident has filed a legal intervention seeking to block the Stargate project over allegations that township officials violated the Open Meetings Act when they approved a legal settlement that made way for the development.

    In addition to the utility contracts, developers need permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to install diesel-powered backup generators and begin construction activities that would impact wetlands and the Saline River.

    This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Bolivia President Removes Fuel Subsidies

    LA PAZ, ‌Dec ​17 (Reuters) – Bolivian ‌President Rodrigo ​Paz, who ‍took office ​last ​month, announced ⁠his government would remove long-standing fuel ‌subsidies in a ​bid ‌to shore ‍up public ⁠accounts.

    “This does not mean abandonment (by the ​government), it means order, justice; redistribution that’s real, clear and transparent,” he said in a ​nationwide address.

    (Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Editing ​by Jacqueline Wong)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Rural Michigan Broadband Access to Jump With $920M in Fed Funding

    Efforts to expand high-speed internet across rural northern Michigan will get a $920 million boost from a federal grant, which over the next four years is expected to make broadband available to an additional 200,000 homes and businesses.

    Combined with $550 million in matching funds from providers, the almost $1.5 billion investment is a potential game-changer for rural counties, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

    The federal grant was announced in 2023, but it’s taken two years to get projects in local communities lined up for disbursement of those funds. In four years, the investment is expected to add 31,000 miles of fiber-optic lines across the state.

    “When we expand access to affordable, high-speed internet, we open doors to jobs, healthcare, education, opportunity and so much more,” Whitmer said in a statement. “We’re making historic investments across the state to ensure that no matter where someone lives or works, they have the connectivity they need to thrive and reach their full potential.”

    “We know that access to reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury,” said Eric Frederick, chief connectivity officer for the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office. “This funding … helps Michiganders get access to education, visit doctors, apply for jobs and so much more.”

    Currently, about 9 of 10 Michigan homes have access to internet service of at least 100 megabits per second, the minimum rate the Federal Communications Commission sets for high-speed internet, also called broadband. That puts Michigan in the middle of the pack among states.

    Yet there are 23 counties — mostly in northern Michigan or the Upper Peninsula — where under 60% of homes have broadband access, according to data from Connect Nation, a nonprofit working to close the digital divide.

    In Lake County, just 22% of homes have high-speed internet available; In Osceola County, it’s 28%.

    By comparison, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties all have broadband access surpassing 99%.

    Katy Xenakis-Makowski, superintendent of Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools in Otsego County, told Bridge Michigan that many of her students and half her teachers don’t have high-speed internet at home.

    “They just started to put broadband in my neighborhood this summer,” Xenakis-Makowski. “We had an ice storm and were out (of school) for eight days. “People say, ‘Oh, you should just make them up by going online,’ and we can’t.”

    Government support is needed to expand high-speed internet infrastructure to rural regions where there aren’t enough potential consumers to make the expansion financially viable. The UP’s Luce County, for example, has a population of about six people per square mile.

    Michigan has made notable progress in increasing access, as well as the speed of the internet available. In 2018, just 4.3% of households had access to 1 gigabit-per-second service, compared to 45.2% in 2025.

    After the announced expansions are complete, “Michigan will be closer to universal availability than ever before,” said Frederick. “There will still likely be extremely remote and rural locations that may still need to be connected, but nearly all Michigan households and businesses will be able to access high-speed internet after these investments are made.”

    Even when internet lines are laid, there’s the problem of service cost in areas that have a high poverty rate. Nationally, between 3% and 8% of households where broadband is available do not have internet in their homes, either because of cost or choice.

    As of 2023, more than 492,000 Michigan households had either no internet access or no availability of broadband, according to the Michigan Digital Equity Plan, published by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Another 730,000 households faced barriers related to affordability, device access or digital literacy.

    This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Trump Says He’s Barring South Africa From Participating in Next Year’s G20 Summit in Miami

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is barring South Africa from participating in the Group of 20 summit next year in Miami and will “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country over its treatment of a U.S. government representative at this year’s global meeting.

    Trump chose not to have an American delegation attend the recent summit hosted by South Africa, saying he did so because white Afrikaners were being violently persecuted. It is claim that South Africa, which was mired for decades in racial apartheid, has rejected as baseless.

    The Republican president, in a social media post, said South Africa had refused to hand over its G20 hosting responsibilities to a senior representative of the U.S. Embassy when the summit ended over the weekend.

    “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

    “South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere,” he said, “and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • German government to subsidize industry’s energy prices in bid to revitalize economy

    BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s governing coalition agreed to subsidize energy prices for heavy industry over the next three years as it tries to breathe new life into a stubbornly slow economy that is weighing on Europe’s performance.

    Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he and other coalition leaders agreed Thursday evening to introduce an electricity price of about 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour starting Jan. 1, through 2028, to “support companies that use a lot of electricity and face international competition.”

    Talks on the plan with the European Union’s executive commission are near-complete and “we assume we will get permission for this,” Merz said.

    The German economy, Europe’s biggest, has shrunk for the past two years and has not seen significant growth for much longer. The conservative Merz’s coalition government with the center-left Social Democrats has made revitalizing it a priority since taking office in early May.

    Still, results haven’t shown through yet, with gross domestic product stagnating in the third quarter. This week, the government’s panel of independent economic advisers forecast it will grow by an unimpressive 0.9% next year after edging up 0.2% this year.

    The country’s economy, which is heavy on manufacturing and exports, has been held back by multiple factors including high energy prices, competition from Chinese producers of autos and industrial machinery, a lack of skilled workers and excessive bureaucracy.

    The government has launched a program to encourage investment and set up a fund of 500 billion euros ($581.4 billion) to pour money into Germany’s creaking infrastructure over the next 12 years. The government promises to cut red tape and speed up the country’s lagging digitization.

    ING economist Carsten Brzeski, who put the current energy price at some 15 euro cents (17 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour, said Friday that the planned subsidy “sends a strong signal and could provide industry not only short-term relief but also clarity and stability for years to come.”

    Holger Lösch, deputy managing director of the Federation of German Industries, said the subsidized price would “help particularly energy-intensive industrial companies to remain competitive internationally,” adding that he hopes the EU allows Germany the flexibility to reduce a large number of companies’ costs.

    Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil put the expected cost of the measure at between 3 and 5 billion euros ($3.4 billion and $5.8 billion).

    Coalition leaders also agreed to cut a tax on airline tickets starting in July, something the air transport industry has long demanded. The measures will need parliamentary approval.

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  • Republicans promised health care negotiations after the shutdown, but Democrats are wary

    WASHINGTON — Now that the government shutdown is over, House and Senate Republicans say they will negotiate with Democrats on whether to extend COVID-era tax credits that help tens of millions of Americans afford their health care premiums. But finding bipartisan agreement could be difficult, if not impossible, before the subsidies expire at the end of the year.

    The shutdown ended this week after a small group of Democrats made a deal with Republicans senators who promised a vote by mid-December on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. But there is no guaranteed outcome, and many Republicans have made clear they want the credits to expire.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the subsidies a “boondoggle” immediately after the House voted Wednesday to end the shutdown, and President Donald Trump said the Obama-era health overhaul was “disaster” as he signed the reopening bill into law.

    It is far from the outcome that Democrats had hoped for as they kept the government closed for 43 days, demanding that Republicans negotiate with them on an extension before premiums sharply increase. But they say they will try again as the expiration date approaches.

    “It remains to be seen if they are serious,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. But he said Democrats “are just getting started.”

    Republicans have been meeting privately to discuss the issue. Some want to extend the subsidies, with changes, to avoid the widespread increases in premiums. Others, like Johnson and Trump, want to start a new conversation about overhauling “Obamacare” entirely — a redo after a similar effort in 2017 failed.

    Health care has long been one of the most difficult issues on Capitol Hill, marked by deep ideological and political divides. Partisan disagreement over 2010 law has persisted for more than a decade, and relationships are already strained from weeks of partisan tensions over the shutdown.

    Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said that while Republicans have promised negotiations and a Senate vote, Democrats are wary. She noted that Johnson has not committed to anything in the House.

    “Do I trust any of them? Hell no,” DeLauro said.

    If the two sides cannot agree, as many as 24 million people who get their health care from the exchanges created by the law could see their premiums go up Jan. 1. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, one of the Democrats who struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to reopen the government, said she thinks an agreement on the tax credits is possible.

    During the talks that led to the shutdown’s end, Shaheen said she and other moderate Democrats sat across from Thune and “looked him eye to eye” as he committed to a serious effort.

    “We’re going to have a chance to vote on a bill that we will write by mid-December, in a way that gives us a chance to build — hopefully build — bipartisan support to get that through,” Shaheen said.

    While Democrats would like to see a permanent extension of the tax credits, most realize that is unlikely. Just before the shutdown ended, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York proposed a one-year extension and a bipartisan committee to address Republican demands for changes to the ACA. But Thune said that was a “nonstarter” as the government remained shut down.

    In the House, Democrats have proposed a three-year extension.

    While Republicans have long sought to scrap Obamacare, they have had challenges over the years in figuring out what would replace it. That problem plagued the 2017 effort, when then-Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., cast the deciding vote to kill a bill on the Senate floor that was short on detail.

    Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., have proposed overhauling the law to create accounts that would direct the money to individuals instead of insurance companies. Those are ideas that Trump echoed as he signed the funding bill Wednesday evening.

    “I want the money to go directly to you, the people,” Trump said.

    It is unclear exactly how that would work, and scrapping the law in its current form would take months, if not years, to negotiate, even if Republicans could find the votes to do it.

    Some moderate Republicans in the House have said they want to work with Democrats to extend the subsidies before the deadline, which is only weeks away. In a letter to Thune and Schumer on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the Republican co-chair of the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, encouraged negotiations.

    “Our sense of urgency cannot be greater,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “Our willingness to cooperate has no limits.”

    So far, though, Senate Republicans have been meeting on their own to figure out their own differences.

    “Right now, it’s just getting consensus among ourselves,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Monday after GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee met to discuss possible ways forward.

    Tillis is supportive of extending the tax credits, but said lawmakers also need to find a way to reduce costs. If the two sides cannot eventually agree, Tillis said, Republicans may have to try and figure out a way to do it on their own, potentially using budget maneuvers that enabled them to pass Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” this summer without any Democratic votes.

    “We should have that in our back pocket too,” Tillis said.

    Some House Democrats have raised the possibility that there could be another shutdown if they are unable to win concessions on health care. The bill signed by Trump will fully fund some parts of the government, but others run out of money again at the end of January if Congress does not act.

    “I think it depends on the vulnerable House Republicans who are not going to be able to go back to their constituents without telling them that they’ve done something on health care,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

    “We’ll just have to see” if there could be another shutdown, said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.

    Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said he is “not going to vote to endorse their cruelty” if Republicans do not extend the subsidies.

    DeLauro said that Republicans have wanted to repeal the ACA since it was first enacted. “That’s where they’re trying to go,” she said.

    “When it comes to January 30 we’ll see what progress has been made,” she said.

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  • See how much health insurance costs would go up if expanded ACA subsidies are allowed to expire

    See how much health insurance costs would go up if expanded ACA subsidies are allowed to expire

    The expiration of expanded ACA subsidies could lead to higher health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

    Updated: 5:36 PM PST Nov 11, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The expanded Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, initially passed by Democrats in 2021 as part of pandemic relief legislation, are set to expire at the end of this year, potentially increasing health insurance costs for many Americans.FactCheck.org has looked into competing claims of who benefits from the subsidies. Democrats first passed the expanded ACA subsidies in 2021 as part of pandemic relief legislation, with the enhanced subsidies initially set to last for two years. They were later extended through the end of this year via additional legislation passed by Democrats. Under the ACA, subsidies are available for people who buy their own insurance on the marketplace and if they earn up to 400% above the federal poverty level. Those eligible for coverage also can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have employer-sponsored health care. For an individual, this threshold is $62,000 annually, $84,000 for a couple, and $128,000 for a family of four, according to FactCheck.org. When the ACA subsidies expanded in 2021, it increased the financial help enrollees could get and eliminated the 400% income cap. If the subsidies expire, there would be no tax credit anymore for people who make more than 400% of the federal poverty level.Health policy research organization KFF looked at the changes families could see with the expiring ACA subsidies. According to FactCheck.org, premiums are based on income, and currently, people are paying up to 8.5% of their income for health insurance. If the subsidies expire, people would pay more for their premiums, from 2% to 10% of their income.For example, an individual who makes $35,000 is currently paying 3% of their income towards their health premium. If the subsidies expire, they would pay 7.5% of their income towards insurance, which would be a $1,500 increase. For a family of four earning $90,000 a year, they currently pay 5.2% of their income towards their health premium. If the subsidies expire, it would jump to 9.4%, resulting in a $3,700 increase. Prices could vary depending on age, income, family size, and location.Enrollment for health insurance through ACA has more than doubled since 2020, according to FactCheck.org. About 7% of the U.S. population, around 24 million people, enrolled this year, and the vast majority received subsidies. The Congressional Budget Office estimated 4.2 million people will not have health insurance in 2034 if the enhancement expires. They also estimate a permanent extension of these subsidies would cost nearly $350 billion over 10 years.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    The expanded Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, initially passed by Democrats in 2021 as part of pandemic relief legislation, are set to expire at the end of this year, potentially increasing health insurance costs for many Americans.

    FactCheck.org has looked into competing claims of who benefits from the subsidies.

    Democrats first passed the expanded ACA subsidies in 2021 as part of pandemic relief legislation, with the enhanced subsidies initially set to last for two years.

    They were later extended through the end of this year via additional legislation passed by Democrats.

    Under the ACA, subsidies are available for people who buy their own insurance on the marketplace and if they earn up to 400% above the federal poverty level. Those eligible for coverage also can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have employer-sponsored health care.

    For an individual, this threshold is $62,000 annually, $84,000 for a couple, and $128,000 for a family of four, according to FactCheck.org.

    When the ACA subsidies expanded in 2021, it increased the financial help enrollees could get and eliminated the 400% income cap. If the subsidies expire, there would be no tax credit anymore for people who make more than 400% of the federal poverty level.

    Health policy research organization KFF looked at the changes families could see with the expiring ACA subsidies.

    According to FactCheck.org, premiums are based on income, and currently, people are paying up to 8.5% of their income for health insurance. If the subsidies expire, people would pay more for their premiums, from 2% to 10% of their income.

    For example, an individual who makes $35,000 is currently paying 3% of their income towards their health premium. If the subsidies expire, they would pay 7.5% of their income towards insurance, which would be a $1,500 increase. For a family of four earning $90,000 a year, they currently pay 5.2% of their income towards their health premium. If the subsidies expire, it would jump to 9.4%, resulting in a $3,700 increase. Prices could vary depending on age, income, family size, and location.

    Enrollment for health insurance through ACA has more than doubled since 2020, according to FactCheck.org.

    About 7% of the U.S. population, around 24 million people, enrolled this year, and the vast majority received subsidies.

    The Congressional Budget Office estimated 4.2 million people will not have health insurance in 2034 if the enhancement expires.

    They also estimate a permanent extension of these subsidies would cost nearly $350 billion over 10 years.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Fact-checking Democratic ACA subsidies talking points

    The government shutdown failed to resolve differences between Republicans and Democrats over policies related to Obamacare’s affordability.

    Republicans refused to go along with Democrats’ proposal to extend expiring COVID-19-era subsidies for people who buy their insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The Senate voted Nov. 10 to fund the government through January without voting on the subsidies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate would vote later this year on extending them. 

    Most people who use Affordable Care Act marketplaces obtain subsidies. 

    In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation that made the subsidies more generous. The legislation reduced the maximum amount purchasers would have to pay for coverage and enabled households with incomes higher than 400% of the federal poverty level to receive subsidies. Previously, the subsidies were capped at 400% of the poverty limit for a household, which in 2024 was $60,240 for a one-person household. 

    Congress renewed these enhanced subsidies in 2022 through the end of 2025.

    The subsidies proved popular; the number of people receiving them increased from about 11 million to more than 24 million people, the vast majority of whom receive an enhanced premium tax credit.

    If enhanced tax credits expire, many enrollees will continue to qualify for smaller tax credits, while others will lose eligibility altogether.

    President Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare, said he wants to give people money to buy their own health insurance, without providing details. 

    Democrats will likely campaign on Obamacare costs through the midterms, particularly if Republicans vote against extending the subsidies in the coming weeks. We fact-checked some recent Democratic talking points. 

    “The five states that are most impacted by a failure to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits are West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Mississippi and Tennessee.”  — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at a Nov. 10 press conference

    This is accurate, according to one analysis of premium payment increases for consumers choosing plans in the same tier, without the enhanced subsidies. Jeffries was citing the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund.

    “Most impacted” can mean many things, not just premium spike size. Florida has 4.7 million people enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans in 2025, more than any other state. About 97% of enrollees receive a discount that makes their plans cheaper.

    One analysis puts Texas ahead of Florida for the overall number of people who will not enroll in ACA plans in 2026 if the subsidies expire. Texas has a larger state population.

    “Forty-five percent of the people, of the Americans, who are going to lose health care or be at risk of losing health care if they don’t on the other side of the aisle extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, 45% of them are registered Republicans.” — Jeffries at a Nov. 10 press conference

    Jeffries’ statistic for Republican voters affected by the ACA subsidies comes from a May poll by KFF, a leading health policy think tank.

    The poll found Republicans make up 45% of adults who purchase their own health insurance, most of whom do so through the ACA marketplaces. That included 31% who defined themselves as MAGA Republicans and 14% called themselves non-MAGA Republicans. (The survey defined MAGA Republicans as Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who support Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.) About 35% enrolled through the marketplace were Democrats and 20% were independents.

    The rates were lower for Medicaid enrollees, KFF found: 27% self-identified as MAGA or non-MAGA Republicans.

    Jeffries predicted that this group is at risk of losing health care entirely, but we don’t yet know exactly how many would drop their insurance because of rising costs.

    The Congressional Budget Office expects 2 million more people would be uninsured in 2026, increasing to 3.8 million in 2034 and 2025. More people are likely to drop ACA coverage but not become uninsured, for example changing to a job that offers health insurance.

    “If this is the so-called ‘deal,’ then I will be a no. That’s not a deal. It’s an unconditional surrender that abandons the 24 million Americans whose health care premiums are about to double.” — Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., Nov. 9 X post

    This is largely accurate.

    Torres told us he was referring to a Sept. 30 analysis by KFF that found that the expiration of the credits “is estimated to more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay annually for premiums — a 114% increase from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.” About 24 million people are on the marketplace, and most receive subsidies.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., went further Nov. 9 when he said ending the subsidies “raises health care premiums for over 20 million Americans by doubling, and in some cases tripling and quadrupling” the cost. 

    Many low-income people would see their out-of-pocket premiums increase from zero to hundreds of dollars, said Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy.

    “It would cost $38 billion to extend ACA credits next year and prevent millions of people from losing their healthcare. Reminder: Trump sent $40 billion to Argentina for no reason.” — Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Nov. 7 on Bluesky 

    Lofgren’s statement about the cost of ACA enhanced subsidies is in the ballpark, but she exaggerated what the federal government sent to Argentina.

    Extending the enhanced subsidies would cost about $350 billion over a decade including about $38 billion next year, the center-right American Action Forum found.

    Other estimates are lower or higher. Levitt told us the net effect on the federal budget in 2027, which is a more complete year, is $31.9 billion.

    Romina Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, said factoring in direct costs, interest payments and spending in other programs averages around $48.8 billion more each year. 

    Regarding Argentina, Lofgren was referring to the Trump administration’s announcement in October that it agreed to a $20 billion currency swap and facilitated $20 billion in private financing. 

    The funds to support Argentina couldn’t be shifted to health care credits. The U.S. Treasury dedicates a pool of funds  for onetime U.S. intervention in foreign exchange markets.

    Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson contributed to this article.

    RELATED: Government shutdown fact-checks about SNAP, WIC, Obamacare and immigration

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  • President Trump urges Republicans to reopen government as shutdown marks longest in US history

    The government shutdown has reached its 36th day, the longest in U.S. history, as President Donald Trump pressures Republicans to end the Senate filibuster in order to reopen the government.”It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that’s terminate the filibuster. It’s the only way you can do it,” Trump told senators Wednesday at the White House.The filibuster is a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. Ending the filibuster would allow Republicans to pass a bill with a simple majority, but several Republicans warn that when Democrats are in power, they’d be able to do the same thing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said after breakfast at the White House, “It’s just not happening.”The president also said the shutdown was a “big factor, negative” in Tuesday’s election results.”Countless public servants are now not being paid and the air traffic control system is under increasing strain. We must get the government back open soon and really immediately,” Trump said.The shutdown is hitting home for many Americans, with lines stretching at food banks across the country as SNAP benefits are delayed and reduced for more than 40 million Americans. After-school programs that depend on federal dollars are closing. The Transportation Secretary said, starting Friday, there will be a 10% reduction in flights at 40 airports across the country.Republicans have pushed to reopen the government with a short-term spending bill. Democrats have rejected those bills, arguing that Republicans are leaving out a key provision: restoring expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans lower their health-insurance costs. Democrats say passing a short-term bill without those subsidies would leave families facing sudden premium spikes.”The election results ought to send a much needed bolt of lightning to Donald Trump that he should meet with us to end this crisis,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “The American people have spoken last night. End the shutdown, end the healthcare crisis, sit down and talk with us.”Republicans have said they’re willing to negotiate ACA subsidies, but only after the shutdown is over.See more government shutdown coverage from the Washington News Bureau:

    WASHINGTON —

    The government shutdown has reached its 36th day, the longest in U.S. history, as President Donald Trump pressures Republicans to end the Senate filibuster in order to reopen the government.

    “It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that’s terminate the filibuster. It’s the only way you can do it,” Trump told senators Wednesday at the White House.

    The filibuster is a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. Ending the filibuster would allow Republicans to pass a bill with a simple majority, but several Republicans warn that when Democrats are in power, they’d be able to do the same thing.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune said after breakfast at the White House, “It’s just not happening.”

    The president also said the shutdown was a “big factor, negative” in Tuesday’s election results.

    “Countless public servants are now not being paid and the air traffic control system is under increasing strain. We must get the government back open soon and really immediately,” Trump said.

    The shutdown is hitting home for many Americans, with lines stretching at food banks across the country as SNAP benefits are delayed and reduced for more than 40 million Americans. After-school programs that depend on federal dollars are closing.

    The Transportation Secretary said, starting Friday, there will be a 10% reduction in flights at 40 airports across the country.

    Republicans have pushed to reopen the government with a short-term spending bill. Democrats have rejected those bills, arguing that Republicans are leaving out a key provision: restoring expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans lower their health-insurance costs. Democrats say passing a short-term bill without those subsidies would leave families facing sudden premium spikes.

    “The election results ought to send a much needed bolt of lightning to Donald Trump that he should meet with us to end this crisis,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “The American people have spoken last night. End the shutdown, end the healthcare crisis, sit down and talk with us.”

    Republicans have said they’re willing to negotiate ACA subsidies, but only after the shutdown is over.

    See more government shutdown coverage from the Washington News Bureau:

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  • States Sue Over Trump Administration Suspending Food Benefits During Shutdown

    BOSTON (Reuters) -A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop President Donald Trump’s administration from suspending food aid benefits starting on November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

    Attorneys general and governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia filed the lawsuit in Boston federal court after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would not use $6 billion in contingency funds to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as food stamps.

    “The federal government has the money to continue funding SNAP benefits — they’re choosing to harm millions of families across the country already struggling to make ends meet,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a social media post.

    Democrats and Republicans in Congress have traded blame for the shutdown and for the risk that SNAP benefits, which provide food assistance to more than 41 million low-income Americans, could lapse in November. 

    The USDA’s shutdown plan had included the potential use of contingency funds for SNAP, but on Saturday the department updated its website to say no benefits would be issued on November 1 as scheduled, stating “the well has run dry.”

    The lawsuit argues the suspension of benefits is arbitrary and being carried out in violation of the law and regulations governing the program, which requires that “assistance under this program shall be furnished to all eligible households.”

    The lawsuit says the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 makes clear that the contingency funds should be used when necessary to carry out program operations.

    The plaintiffs, who are led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, Arizona and Minnesota, say a failure by the federal government to issue monthly food assistance payments as a result of a lapse in appropriations would mark a first in the SNAP program’s 60-year history.

    The states say they will seek to have a judge issue a temporary restraining order forcing the USDA to use available contingency funds for November SNAP benefits and ensure that millions of families do not lose access to food assistance in the coming days.

    “Millions of Americans are about to go hungry because the federal government has chosen to withhold food assistance it is legally obligated to provide,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. 

    The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Idira Talwani, who was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama.

    A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture in a statement said Senate Democrats are appointing an inflection point where they either “hold out for the Far-Left wing of the party or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”

    SNAP benefits are available for Americans whose income is less than 130% of the federal poverty line, or $1,632 a month for a one-person household, or $2,215 for a two-person household in many areas. 

    SNAP benefits are paid out on a monthly basis, though the exact date payments are distributed varies among states, which are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the benefits.

    The shutdown also threatens benefits for nearly 7 million participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.

    (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Chizu Nomiyama)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Reuters

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