A majority of Trump supporters back extending Obamacare subsidies

Most of President Donald Trump’s supporters back keeping tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, the central obstacle in ending the government shutdown, according to a new poll.

Most of President Donald Trump’s supporters back keeping enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans, the central obstacle in ending the government shutdown, according to a new poll from the nonpartisan health policy research group KFF. It was conducted Sept. 23 through Sept. 29, just days before Congress failed to pass a funding measure to keep the government open.

More than 22 million people receive the subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends them. Losing the subsidies could mean that average out-of-pocket premium payments could double in 2026, from $888 a year to $1,904, an earlier KFF analysis found.

Around 4 million people are projected to go without coverage next year because they can no longer afford it, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Extending them would cost the federal government around $350 billion over the next decade.

The new survey found 59% of Republicans and 57% of “Make American Great Again” supporters favor extending the enhanced subsidies.

The nationally representative sample of 1,334 adults were asked whether they support extending the subsidies, not whether they support including them in budget negotiations. Whether to include them is a sticking point in the ongoing budget battle, with Democrats arguing they must be extended before open enrollment next month, when many enrollees will be shocked to find their premiums are increasing.