Republicans and Democrats agree that Congress needs to move fast if it wants to shield consumers from looming premium hikes in the Affordable Care Act exchanges. But a hearing of an influential Senate committee on Wednesday didn’t provide any assurances that Congress will be able to get its act together before the end of the year.

“I’m hoping that we can find a bill that can get 60 votes that can fix the problem of the exchanges for January 1, 2026,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., during the meeting. “We can push for big ideas, grandiose ideas on the right or the left, but we’ve got to have a solution for three weeks from now.”

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s hearing on healthcare affordability is the latest in a string of public hearings, backdoor meetings a

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