At the time of writing this column, it appears that, based on historical standards, we are in for a fairly long government shutdown. As I stated in a recent column, I do not believe increasing the debt ceiling limit should ever be held hostage to the political aspirations of the Senate’s minority party. I was upset with the Republicans when they did it and I am upset with the Democrats now.

The principal issue is extending the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies to avoid health insurance premium hikes or coverage losses for millions of Americans next year.

One of the ACA’s principal features is the creation of insurance exchanges through which individuals and small businesses can purchase health insurance plans. For those with lower income (i.e., those earning income between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level) their monthly premiums are subsidized by tax credits. During the pandemic, Congress sought to increase the affordability of health care insurance, so the subsidies were temporarily modified by making two changes, which expire at the end of 2025.

The 400% ceiling of federal poverty level income was eliminated, which allowed people with higher incomes to qualify for subsidies.

Lower-income households received greater........

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