TOPSHOT - Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images

The headlines from Congress’s passage of the Big Beautiful Bill have faded, but its consequences are only beginning. Designed to postpone its harshest health impacts until after the 2026 mid-term elections, the law is colliding with a new reality: as of October 1, the federal government has shut down, triggered by an impasse over the future of tax credits for Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums. For millions of families, the countdown is no longer abstract—it’s here.

ACA Credits: The Flashpoint

The shutdown’s core fight is the fate of ACA premium tax credits. These expanded subsidies, first authorized during the pandemic and renewed through 2025, double

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