New data challenge Democrats’ central claim in the ongoing government funding standoff. For nearly three weeks, Democrats have refused to back any funding bill unless it includes an extension of COVID-era Obamacare premium subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025. Democrats, who passed the subsidy expansions without a single Republican vote, originally set them to expire at the end of 2025. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed Tuesday on X that Republicans are raising Americans’ healthcare premiums by thousands per year. Even if the subsidies expire, taxpayers are still expected to cover over 80% of the typical Obamacare enrollee’s premiums, Paragon noted.