People attend the Health Care Over Billionaires Rally at the US Capitol on September 30, 2025. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Fair Share America

Obamacare has brought the federal government to a standstill.

Once again, Republicans and Democrats are locked in a battle over the landmark health reform law. But this time it has prevented lawmakers from passing legislation to fund federal agencies for the current fiscal year, forcing the government to shut down on October 1.

At the center of the conflict are the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsides that help Americans pay their monthly premiums.

Let us explain what’s going on:

What are the enhanced subsidies?

When Democrats took full control of Congress in 2021, they beefed up Obamacare’s existing premium subsidies as part of for

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