When Obamacare first came on line, even its diehard supporters admitted that its existence depended on "sufficient" subsidies to ensure the premiums were affordable. In the first few years the premiums were not affordable to many people - they increased dramatically in a short time. But, its Democratic fans kept pushing to bit by bit increase the subsidies, so that more recently the prices levelled out. Come the pandemic, they saw a great opportunity ('never let a good crisis go to waste') to give a big "temporary" boost to the subsidies. Now, of course, the heat is on to make them permanent.
Make no mistake. Obamacare is a giant scam. It is a system designed to force some people to pay for the healthcare of others and it does absolutely nothing to actually bring down the cost of healthcare by increasing the supply of healthcare. In addition, it subsidizes the insurers, not the patients, thus providing and incentive to jack up the price even more at your and my expense.
Healthcare in America is sick and it is getting sicker.