Hopes fade in Congress for a health care deal before premiums soar in January

Congress has less than a month before health insurance premiums are set to spike for millions of Americans.

WASHINGTON — Congress has less than a month before health insurance premiums are set to spike for millions of Americans. And hopes of a deal to mitigate the pain are fizzling among lawmakers in both parties.

“I’m not hopeful that that’s going to happen,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said. “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.”

Peters was among a group of senators seeking a health care deal when eight Democrats voted with Republicans to reopen the government last month, ending the record-long shutdown that Democrats had forced to try to extend Affordable Care Act money.

The group of eight agreed to end the shutdown after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised Democrats a vote on a health care bill of their choosing next week, a promise he reiterated Tuesday. But that would require 60 votes, and as Republicans struggle to coalesce around a proposal of their own, Thune said the two sides still aren’t close to an agreement.

“I haven’t seen yet what the Dems are proposing. I don’t think we’re close to a 60-vote threshold yet,” Thune told NBC News on Tuesday.