Federal health subsidies are expiring. Now, states are trying to fill the gap

Here & Now Anytime

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

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Summary

Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire as the new year begins, and some states are trying to take action. In Georgia, Democrats are pushing for the state to cover the subsidies, but many Republicans there are opposed. Georgia Democratic State Representative Sam Park and Georgia Republican State Senator Ben Watson join us to discuss the state of the debate.

And, counting down the last few seconds before the clock strikes midnight is a New Year’s Eve tradition. But did you know it’s a modern phenomenon? Historian Alexis McCrossen explains how it came to be.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.
0:11.6	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:16.6	This is a simple solution. We have something that it's not perfect, but it works.
0:25.2	With the new year comes new health care costs for millions of Americans on Obamacare.
0:44.4	It's Wednesday, December 31st, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR Boston.
0:45.8	I'm Shiko Tha Uri.
0:49.9	Today on the show.
0:57.0	Five, four, three, two, one, happy New Year. We did it.
0:59.4	Counting down into the New Year is a fairly modern tradition.
1:03.3	We wind back the clock for a little history lesson.
1:06.8	But first, the New Year will bring drastically higher health care costs for millions of Americans.
1:13.0	That's because federal Obamacare subsidies are expiring today.
1:17.2	Congress failed to reach a deal to extend them, and now some states are trying to fill the gap.
1:22.3	New Mexico will cover the lapse subsidies.
1:24.8	It's unclear for how long.
1:26.5	But states like Georgia are at a stalemate.
1:29.1	Some Democrats there, like state representative Sam Park, are pushing for the state to make up the
1:33.7	difference. He joins Robin Young to explain why. You've called on your state to step in and fill
1:39.5	this funding gap. Does the state have enough money to do that? Yes, without a doubt. Currently,
1:46.5	Georgia is sitting on a $14 billion surplus. So we have more than adequate funds to cover this
1:54.0	and to backfill this gap. And for how long? At least for a few years as necessarily, as needed, but at the very least for the upcoming
2:05.6	year, you know, it's estimated that at least for one year it costs about $900 million.
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