What happened
Open enrollment begins Friday, Nov. 1 for 2025 health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Some 21 million people currently get health insurance through the ACA, or Obamacare, though the upcoming presidential election "could threaten eligibility and raise costs for millions of those in the program," The Associated Press said.
Who said what
The "future of 'Obamacare' has emerged as a key issue in the closing days of the presidential campaign," the AP said, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said "no Obamacare" at a Pennsylvania campaign stop on Monday. He promised a "massive reform" of the ACA would be "a big part of the agenda" if Donald Trump wins and Republicans keep control of the House.
Kamala Harris pointed to those remarks yesterday, telling a rally in Reno, Nevada, that "Donald Trump still wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act," and if he wins, "they would throw millions of Americans off the health insurance and take us back" to when "insurance companies have the ability to deny people with pre-existing conditions." Trump said on social media he "never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump "repeatedly vowed to repeal Obamacare" in 2016, Reuters said, and his efforts to do so died in the Senate by only one vote. The next president and Congress will once more steer the ACA's fate, most immediately by extending billions in premium subsidies and expanded eligibility that expire next year, or not.
What next?
Open enrollment ends Jan. 15, though people must sign up by Dec. 15 for coverage to start Jan. 1.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocratFeature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Can TrumpRx really lower drug prices?Today’s Big Question Pfizer’s deal with Trump sent drugmaker stocks higher
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
Why are autism rates increasing?The Explainer Medical experts condemn Trump administration’s claim that paracetamol during pregnancy is linked to rising rates of neurodevelopmental disorder in US and UK
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
