End the shutdown? That’ll point Congress back to Obamacare’s rising costs.
At the heart of what is now the longest U.S. government shutdown in history are federal subsidies that millions of Americans use to purchase health insurance on government-run marketplaces.
The shutdown began as Democrats dug in their heels to prevent these subsidies from expiring. And now, members of Congress are facing increasing pressure to end the shutdown – not just because of its effects on airports and federal programs like nutrition assistance, but also because of public concerns about rising insurance premiums.
These subsidies were greatly expanded in 2021 by Democrats who controlled Congress at the time. This led to a surge in enrollment on these marketplaces, which were created in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.Why We Wrote ThisThe idea of federal subsidies to help more people afford health insurance was...
