Copyright NBC News
Affordable Care Act open enrollment kicks off tomorrow, and this year’s enrollment period is expected to see the largest increase in costs since the law went into effect more than a decade ago. More than 24 million Americans get their health insurance through the ACA, also known as Obamacare. In 2026, a perfect storm of rising premiums and the expiration of enhanced subsidies that kept costs lower for middle-class families mean many people will face higher bills or be forced to shop around for cheaper plans. Some plan to go uninsured as a result. “It’s a high risk situation for people,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. “If it comes down to paying for food, power and heat versus health insurance that you don’t know if you’ll need or not, it’s hard to continue to pay for that given how much of your budget it takes today.” Whether you’re renewing coverage or signing up for the first time, here’s what you need to know as open enrollment begins. Read the full story here. Trump is calling for the removal of the Senate’s filibuster rule, to bypass a Democratic roadblock during a government shutdown now in its 30th day. The filibuster is the Senate rule for agreement by 60 of its 100 members to pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives. “It is now time for the Republicans to play their “TRUMP CARD,” and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW,” Trump wrote on social media last night. There was no end in sight on Thursday to the partial shutdown, as Senate Republicans urged Democrats to support a stopgap funding measure through November 21 while the latter demanded negotiations to extend expiring federal tax credits. Read the full story here. More than 25 labor unions — including United Auto Workers and the National Education Association — have sent Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins a letter requesting her department release $5 billion in contingency funds to bankroll the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “SNAP creates union jobs along the food supply chain,” reads the letter, first shared with NBC News. “Union members are on meat-cutting floors, delivering and processing food, processing SNAP benefits, picking and harvesting the food that ends up on dinner tables, working in America’s forests, and checking out your constituents at the grocery store. SNAP is vital to creating good jobs for hundreds of thousands of American families.” The government shutdown has put SNAP benefits, which serve millions of people in the U.S., under threat. USDA has said the program will stop Nov. 1. Additionally, the unions want USDA to “cover the remaining amount needed to fully fund SNAP in November in the absence of appropriations.” “There’s nothing ‘fun’ about hungry children and seniors, veterans losing benefits, or seeing droves of working people forced to spend their mornings in line at the food bank,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a news release. “The administration could continue SNAP without a hitch. Instead, they’re leaning into cruelty to punish perceived political enemies and double down on treating this crisis as some sick political game.” NBC News has reached out to USDA for comment. The Trump administration plans to pay military members today by using a mix of legislative and Defense Department funds, according to an official with the White House Office of Management and Budget. It would be the second time the White House has been able to avoid missing a pay period for troops during the government shutdown, now in its 30th day. Service members are considered essential federal employees and are required to work during funding lapses, but essential workers typically aren’t paid during shutdowns. That would bring the total to about $5.3 billion, which is still less than the $6.5 billion that was drawn upon to pay for troops’ paychecks earlier this month. It’s unclear why there’s a difference in the amounts, and the OMB official didn’t respond to a request for comment on that particular point. Axios first reported on the administration’s paycheck plan for tomorrow. Read the full story here.
