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Congress has two days to take action on health care subsidies, before lawmakers head home for the holiday recess. Vanity Fair has published a story featuring rare interviews conducted over more than a year with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. And, the Trump administration is fast-tracking construction of new nuclear reactor designs.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Rebekah Metzler, Brett Neely, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woefle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
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"With two days left in their session, House Republicans prepared to vote on a health care plan." "The roots of Obamacare, they've gotten so deep that it's no longer possible to just pull it out at the root and start over." "So what is Speaker Mike Johnson planning?" "I'm Stephen Skeep with Michelle Martin and this is up first from NPR News." The President's Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the White House in a Vanity Fair story. "What did she say about the administration and the people in it?" And the Trump administration is fast tracking new nuclear reactor designs. Some safety advocates are worried about the government's approach to regulation. "This is not okay and this is not going to lead to success, and this is how to have an accident." Stay with us, we'll give you the news you need to start your day. Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors. This message comes from Schwab. At Schwab, you can get everything from self-directed investing to full-service wealth management, all in one place. No matter your investing goal, life stage, amount to invest or know-how, you can invest your way with Schwab. This message comes from BetterHelp. Your brain has limited storage, so why is it still holding on to that embarrassing moment from years ago? BetterHelp is an online therapy platform that gives you space to talk about what's taking up too much of yours. BetterHelp is now in-network with more than 125 health plans, with many co-pays as low as $15 for eligible members. And if you don't have eligible insurance, you can still get 20% off your first month. Visit BetterHelp.com/NPR. Cost and coverage may vary, discount cannot be combined with insurance. The Enhanced Subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans will expire at the end of this year. Millions of Americans can expect their premiums to increase by thousands of dollars and some plan to drop their coverage. There is no sign of anything that Congress will do about it, although the House plans evoke today. There is not consensus about how to extend the subsidies, and among Republicans, there is disagreement about whether to extend them at all. The deadline to sign up for plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace has passed now, and some people have said they'll forgo insurance because they can no longer afford the premiums. The Congressional Budget Office estimates next year 2.2 million people may lose their coverage. Tell us more about the fault lines here. Is it strictly along party lines? No, not exactly. Democrats want to simply extend the subsidies for three years. A vote to do that failed in the Senate last week, though it did attract four Republican votes. Now, Republicans have their own proposals to cut health costs.
