Dem
47
GOP
53
Voters are very sensitive to inflation. It doesn't matter what causes it, the president always gets blamed. There is some bad news for Donald Trump on this front. Health insurance is about to cost much more. Voters won't like this and Democrats should harp on the fact that it is the Republicans' fault.
One reason costs are going to go up is that heavy subsidies for health insurance were put in place in 2021, during the pandemic. They are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. All the Democrats have to do is nothing. Then the subsidies will go away and they can blame Trump. Some Democrats are fighting to save them, but that will take away a powerful Democratic weapon. This is the nature of asymmetric warfare. Democrats care what happens to actual people. MAGA Republicans care only about what helps them stay in power, their constituents be damned. Democrats need to learn how to play the game if they want to win.
Other reasons for higher premiums include possible tariffs on imported drugs and the uptake in the use of expensive GLP-1 drugs. Currently the tariff on imported drugs is 0%, but Trump wants to raise it to as much as 250%. Health insurance companies know this and have to plan accordingly, even if the tariffs aren't in place yet. Even drugs made in America will be affected, because 30% of the active ingredients come from China. In legal filings, insurance companies have already said they are factoring the proposed tariffs in because they don't want to be caught flat-footed. Democrats can certainly ride the tariff horse as far as it will go.
Since, under current law, the subsidies will expire in December, many health insurance companies are already sending out letters telling customers that premiums will rise next year, in some cases as much as 50%. The lack of subsidies triggers another problem that also works to raise premiums. Without subsidies, many young, healthy people will drop their insurance, making the pool full of older, sicker people. Insurance doesn't work well like that. Republicans don't want to subsidize health insurance for poor people, so all the Democrats have to do is let the Republicans dig their own graves—or even hand them shovels. Encourage people like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in his quest to get rid of the subsidies that he says are costing the government billions. (V)