2 maps show how bad the Obamacare time-bomb could get for Democrats if it goes off just before the midterms

Democrats are sleepwalking towards a political time-bomb that could go off immediately before voters cast their midterm ballots in November.

Last year, President Joe Biden beefed up subsidies to cut monthly premiums and make health insurance more affordable for millions of people buying individual plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For Democrats, that was an important part of the stimulus law designed to improve Obamacare and widen access to the middle-class.

But that temporary program is set to expire if Democrats fail to revive a reconciliation bill that extends that financial assistance past the end of the year. Under that scenario, steep price hikes often totaling hundreds of dollars will hit 13 million Americans benefiting from the program during a punishing stretch of inflation.

"There's no denying that if they are not extended, then there could definitely be a political impact," Charles Gaba, a healthcare policy analyst and blogger, told Insider.