Sarah Bowden

Congratulations, Mr. Mayor.

Yeah, so preliminary data from December show that enrollment is down a bit compared to last December, but overall it is higher than expected.

I spoke with Cynthia Cox at the Health Policy Think Tank KFF, and she says that all of us need to realize that these numbers will probably change.

This is kind of like the difference between putting groceries in your shopping cart and actually purchasing them.

So you don't actually own those groceries until you've paid for them.

The same thing with health insurance.

You can sign up, you can pick a plan, but until you pay for it, it's not your health plan.

So what she's watching for is how many people will keep their coverage.

And a lot of people were automatically re-enrolled in the same policy twice.

but now have a higher premium, but they might not know that yet.

So sticker shock is coming.

It's estimated that 4.8 million people will drop their coverage because they can't pay for it.

You know, there is some discussion between Democrats and moderate Republicans to extend the subsidies.

And if they did, they could make them retroactive.

But many Republicans won't vote for it without getting something in return.

For example, Republicans have suggested that people should set up health savings accounts to save up for emergencies.

Others said they'd potentially support extending the subsidies in exchange for new restrictions on abortion.

But these ideas have not gotten very far at all.

And even if a compromise got through the House, the Senate would be tougher.

The first step, if you haven't already, is go and see exactly how much you're set up to pay this year, because if you don't like that number, you probably still have time to switch policies.