How abortion coverage threatens to prevent a congressional deal on health care subsidies
January 17, 2026
There’s broad bipartisan support in Congress for reviving federal health care subsidies that expired at the beginning of the year. But long-running disagreements over abortion coverage are threatening to block any compromise and leave millions of Americans with higher premiums. Bipartisan Senate negotiations on the subsidies appear to be near collapse as the abortion dispute seems intractable. Republicans are seeking stronger curbs on abortion coverage for people who purchase insurance off the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have strongly opposed any such changes.