Hanging in the balance as the federal government shutdown entered its ninth day Thursday are health insurance plans for nearly 100,000 Long Islanders, some of whom could face thousands of dollars in premium increases if government subsidies aren’t extended on Jan. 1.

One of the key sticking points in the shutdown is a Democratic demand that enhanced federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — that were first enacted in 2021 be extended past their expiration date and made permanent. Democrats also are asking for the reversal of Medicaid changes that would, according to independent analyses , lead to cuts of hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid spending.

On Long Island, the average increase for about 28,000 people with subsidized ACA plans would be

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