At the heart of the government shutdown fight is a dispute over extending expiring subsidies that help people buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats are demanding that Republicans renew the tax breaks that help pay for the coverage, which are set to expire at the end of the year, as part of any funding extension to reopen the government.
Republicans, so far, have said such an extension does not belong on a spending measure, and some have argued that Congress should let the subsidies expire.
Here is a look at the debate.
The subsidies reduce health insurance costs.
The tax credits in question help Americans who don’t get coverage through work, Medicare or Medicaid afford health insurance.
They were a core provision of the law known as Obamacare, enacted in 2010, which aimed to offer subsidies that adjusted with people’s incomes. But in 2021, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Democrats made the subsidies far more generous. Since they did, enrollment in Affordable Care Act insurance has more than doubled, with huge enrollment gains in red states, especial
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