A fight over health policy drove the current federal government shut down.

At issue is the cost of premiums for health care plans people buy on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, marketplaces.

Enhanced tax credits for these premiums expire at the end of the year. Since 2021, those have kept ACA plans affordable for people who get their insurance this way.

Earlier this week, Democrats in the Senate refused to vote for the Republican short-term funding bill which did not include an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits.

So why do they matter?

Furloughs, closures and mass firings threats: What’s next in the shutdown fight

On the first day of the government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats traded blame while a small bipartisan group of senators began to negotiate.

The e

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