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Abortion restrictions may be the top sticking point in negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over a bill that would give enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies – which expired Dec. 31 – new life this year. But there’s another obstacle close behind: no-premium plans that make coverage more affordable for the lowest-income customers. (King, 1/15)

Cynthia Cox, a vice president at KFF, a nonpartisan health care research organization, said the longer Congress waits the more complicated and difficult a resolution will be. “The farther away you get from open enrollment, the harder it is to get people to come back and shop again,” she said. While several lawmakers have said Jan. 15 wasn't a firm deadline for coverage decisions, it will only become more difficult to enroll those who opted to forego insurance. (Reilly, 1/15)

Stacy Cox has always prioritized having access to health insurance. For the 48-year-old self-employed photographer in southern Utah, it’s necessary “so that I can help to calm my anxiety and know that if I need care, I can get care.” Still, Cox and her husband, John, have decided this month to go uninsured after the cost of their health plan under the Affordable Care Act skyrocketed. (Rodriguez, 1/15)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: As Insurance Prices Rise, Families Puzzle Over Options 

New York-based performer Cynthia Freeman, 61, has been trying to figure out how to keep the Affordable Care Act health plan that she and her husband depend on. “If we didn’t have health issues, I’d just go back to where I was in my 40s and not have health insurance,” she said, “but we’re not in that position now.” Freeman and her husband, Brad Lawrence, are freelancers who work in storytelling and podcasting. In October, Lawrence, 52, got very sick, very fast. (Arditi, 1/16)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: �������ýҕ�l Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Culture Wars Take Center Stage

Millions of Americans are facing dramatically higher health insurance premium payments due to the Jan. 1 expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. But much of Washington appears more interested at the moment in culture war issues, including abortion and gender-affirming care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, personnel continue to be fired and rehired, and grants terminated and reinstated, leaving everyone who touches the agency uncertain about what comes next. (Rovner, 1/15)