As the government shutdown persists, Americans face the potential for rising healthcare and no SNAP benefits

Healthcare insurance premiums are expected to rise as SNAP benefits could be halted if the Government does not reopen before November.

If the government shutdown doesn’t end before November, millions of Americans are about to be in a royal bind.

Insurance premiums for marketplace plans are set to increase sharply, and food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces a possible halt as of November 1. 

The shutdown began on October 1, when Congress failed to pass a funding bill, resulting in the freezing of federal operations across the country. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, or sent home without pay, while many others, including air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and military personnel, are still required to work without knowing when they’ll be paid. 

At the center of the fight are COVID-era healthcare subsidies: Democrats want them extended immediately to protect families from rising costs, while Republicans insist negotiations wait until after the government is reopened.

According to The Washington Post, the fight primarily affects Americans who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act. About 22 million people nationwide rely on ACA marketplace plans that are supported by enhanced premium tax credits—subsidies created during the pandemic to make health insurance more affordable. Those subsidies drastically lowered monthly payments for low- and middle-income Americans and led to record enrollment. 

Without them, premiums could more than double from roughly $900 to nearly $1,900 a year, making insurance unaffordable for millions of people who don’t get coverage through an employer. Roughly 9% of ACA enrollees are Black, many of whom gained coverage for the first time under the expanded aid.

Meanwhile, SNAP is one of many other programs caught in the crosshairs of the shutdown. ABC News reported that the program, which provides monthly benefits to about 42 million Americans, could see payments delayed or stopped entirely starting November 1 if Congress doesn’t approve new funding. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP, has already warned states that it will have “insufficient funds to pay full November benefits” if the shutdown continues. Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York are among the states that have already alerted residents. Roughly one in four SNAP households are Black—an estimated 10.5 million Americans—making the potential lapse especially devastating for families of color.

“Republicans would rather shut down the government than protect the Affordable Care Act,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett wrote in a post on X a day before the shutdown began. 

In another post, she added, “Make no mistake: Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. This is THEIR shutdown. They had every tool to govern and chose chaos instead. The American people are the ones paying the price.”