Deal to lower health care increases becoming more difficult

MORNING HEADLINES | Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance are set to expire at the end of the year.

Senate Republicans have promised a vote on extending them before then, but razor-thin margins in Congress, partisan division and competing plans are making it less likely that lawmakers will find a bipartisan deal to keep the assistance going, according to published reports. That means some households will probably face spiking insurance costs next year.

“I’m not hopeful that that’s going to happen,” U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich, told NBC News. “We’ll keep trying to work at it, but I’m not feeling good about it right now. … Things are not coming together like I would’ve hoped that they would.”

The White House initially reportedly expected to roll out a plan last week that paired an extension of the subsidies with a range of conservative reforms meant to limit their scope. That, however, was scrapped following sharp backlash from Republican lawmakers who were blindsided by the framework and deeply opposed to its core elements.

“Conversations continue,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “I don’t think, at this point, we have a clear path forward. I don’t think Democrats have a clear path forward.”

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