Senate Democrats have little time to cobble together a bill extending premium Obamacare subsidies with no guarantee that the legislation can pass, a bitter pill to swallow after weeks spent fighting with Republicans over healthcare.

There are just three weeks when the Senate is in session before mid-December, when Republicans committed to holding a vote on the subsidies as part of a shutdown deal. The vote was a meager concession as Republicans aren’t willing to promise the bill will get through Congress or be signed into law.

But the vote at least leaves the door open to a breakthrough, and the Democrats who negotiated that deal are urging their caucus not to squander the opportunity.

“We have to write a version that is good for our values, that helps people, but is also designed to get some Republican votes,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of seven Senate Democrats to vote to reopen the government on Monday. “If we write this bill in that sweet spot, I think we got a really strong chance of getting it passed.”

Congressional Republicans have shown some willingness to extend the Obamacare subsidies, subject to new limitations on income and language, eliminating “phantom enrollees.” Senators of both parties also want to pass regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, meaning there’s fertile ground for a grand bargain on healthcare before the end of the year.

“There are Democrats and Republicans who are both interested in trying to do something in the healthcare space,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said. “And clearly, there is a need.”

Yet most Democrats lack trust in their GOP colleagues and believe they would not commit to extending the subsidies because there’s no real interest among leadership or the White House. Over in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) won’t agree to hold the same vote on Obamacare subsidies as President Donald Trump has more recently begun to propose legislation that could only draw Republican support.

“The government shutting down seemed to be an opportunity to lead us to better policy, but it didn’t work,” said Senate Minority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), another Senate Democrat who sided with Republicans on Monday. “It worked to this extent — health insurance became a big issue — and we get our day in court in December [with a vote]. But this government shutdown itself did not achieve that.”

For now, Democrats are looking to a bloc of centrist Republicans interested in hammering out a healthcare deal.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a retiring lawmaker known for his bipartisan deal-making, echoed other centrists in advocating a one-year extension coupled with a one- or two-year ramp-down. He made the case that a three-year plan would avoid midterm election drama yet not cut off benefits “cold turkey.”

“I don’t think you’ll see a straight one-year extension, because does anybody really want to go through this drama next year during an election cycle?” Tillis said. “You have to give people time to react, and this sort of cold turkey that people are going through now, they couldn’t possibly plan for some of these increases.”

Kaine, for his part, expressed optimism that common ground could be found when it comes to “means testing … so that the benefits are really to low- and moderate-income people.”

Democrats concede that, with the shutdown behind them, they have limited leverage to extend the Obamacare subsidies. Republicans are generally reluctant to prop up a law passed by the Democrats and feel that the premium subsidies, a product of the coronavirus pandemic, should not have been reauthorized.

However, Republicans are also aware that healthcare could become a liability for them in the midterm elections next year, as out-of-pocket premiums are set to increase for more than 20 million people with plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Multiple rank-and-file Republicans are beginning to draft their own legislative proposals on how to address the rising cost of healthcare, while the top Republicans on the relevant committees are also expected to be engaged.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) was among the frustrated Democrats to lambast the shutdown-ending funding deal, calling it a “disgrace” and a “setback” while also urging the party to “regroup.”

“In the same chamber where the nation watched Senator McCain show courage in saving the ACA, now we see a vote that will lead to millions losing healthcare,” Kim said in a post on X. “There is no excusing this. It’s a huge setback. But we must regroup, expose the cruelty of Trump’s actions, and never stop fighting for the right of healthcare for every American.”