‘Obamacare’ enrollment opens, as Republicans threaten the health insurance program used by millions

Americans can start signing up Friday for health care coverage offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2025, days before a presidential election that could threaten eligibility and raise costs for millions of those in the program. The future of ‘Obamacare’ has emerged as a key issue in the closing days of the presidential campaign, with a top GOP leader promising this week to overhaul the program should Republican Donald Trump win the presidency. Billions of dollars in tax credits are also at stake. Established during the COVID-19 pandemic, the money has expanded eligibility for millions of Americans, made health insurance coverage more affordable for many and dramatically boosted enrollment. Nearly all of the 21 million people in the program have benefited from those subsidies, which expire next year, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in an interview with The Associated Press.“Americans can actually look at health care not as a privilege, but now as a right,” said Becerra, who is going to the political swing state of Arizona on Friday to mark the beginning of open enrollment. “I don’t think anyone wants to have a right yanked away from them to have affordable health insurance coverage.” But significant changes to the program are almost certain if Trump wins the White House and Republicans take control of Congress in Tuesday’s contentious elections. They are threatening to scale back “Obamacare,” a signature achievement of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat.On Monday, a key Trump ally, House Speaker Mike Johnson, declared “No Obamacare” during a Pennsylvania campaign stop, promising “massive reform” under a Trump presidency with a Republican-controlled Congress. “Health care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda,” Johnson said in a video first obtained by NBC News.