Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Friday, October 31st. Today on Forbes, the big changes to ACA

premiums at the heart of the government shutdown. The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, marketplace, open

enrollment period, begins tomorrow, Saturday, 1st, 2025, in most states,

and it's shaping up to be a tricky one. Premiums are going up, and the enhanced premium tax

credits that have helped millions of Americans afford health care coverage are scheduled to expire

at the end of the year. The debate over extending the credits

has become a major sticking point in Washington, and one of the reasons for the current federal

government shutdown. The issue is that in the Republicans quote, one big beautiful bill act

they passed in July, they made permanent many other tax breaks and even created some new temporary ones,

but did not extend the ACA tax credits. Senate Republicans aren't keen to do so in any short-term

funding measure, and Democrats have said they won't support any funding bill that leaves the

tax credits out. If you're unemployed or your employer doesn't

provide health care insurance, or if you're self-employed, or own a small business, finding

individual coverage can be difficult. The solution, courtesy of the ACA, which is also known as

Obamacare, was the creation of health insurance marketplaces. The marketplaces allow individuals

to buy health insurance coverage that isn't tied to employment. Marketplaces offer different

levels of coverage, and the coverage is private pay, meaning individuals choose and pay for

their own coverage. There is a health insurance marketplace in every state.

According to the latest count by KFF, a not-for-profit healthcare think tank, 21 states,

including California and New York, operate their own marketplaces.

In other states, the federal government runs the marketplace, which can be found at

health care.gov.

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