Up First from NPR ACA Vote, Fed Cuts Interest Rates, US-Venezuela
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Dec 11, 2025 
Selena Simmons-Duffin, an NPR health policy reporter, discusses the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies affecting 24 million Americans, with premiums possibly skyrocketing. Scott Horsley, NPR's economics correspondent, analyzes the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates amidst concerns about potential inflation. Steve Walsh, covering military and defense, reports on the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, revealing legal justifications and possible strategic motives behind the action. The conversation is insightful and filled with implications for politics and economics.
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Subsidy Cut Risks Massive Premium Hike
- Enhanced Obamacare subsidies kept many plans extremely affordable during the pandemic, covering 24 million people this year.
- Those enhanced subsidies expire soon and average premiums are expected to double without congressional action.
West Virginia Enrollee's Cost Shock
- Ellen Allen of Charleston expected a dramatic premium increase and prepared by raiding retirement savings.
- Her 2026 bronze plan rose to $1,967 monthly, about four times this year's premium and covering less.
GOP Plan Funds HSAs, Not Premiums
- Senate Republicans propose funding health savings accounts rather than extending enhanced subsidies.
- That approach would be a much smaller spending package and would not directly lower premiums for most enrollees.