Health Care Showdown: Senate Votes, but Will Anything Change?

The Senate is set to vote on two health care bills, but don't expect a breakthrough. One bill aims to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, while the other proposes replacing them with health savings accounts. Both are likely to fail, leaving millions of Americans facing higher health insurance costs next year. This isn't the first time Republicans and Democrats have clashed over health care. The ACA, passed in 2010, has been a contentious issue ever since. Republicans have tried to repeal or overhaul it, but haven't found a suitable alternative. Democrats, on the other hand, have made it a central political issue, betting that people want to keep their coverage. The upcoming votes are just the latest in a series of partisan moves. Earlier this year, Republicans pushed through a major tax and spending bill without Democratic support. Now, they're trying to replace ACA tax credits with health savings accounts, an idea Democrats dismiss as "dead on arrival. " A small group of moderate Democrats briefly raised hopes for a compromise after a recent government shutdown. But those hopes faded quickly when Republicans insisted on adding abortion coverage limits, a non-starter for Democrats. Meanwhile, Republicans are using the looming expiration of the subsidies to criticize the ACA and push for changes. But with no clear consensus within the party, it's unclear what will happen next. If Congress fails to act, health care costs will rise, and Congress's approval rating could drop even further.