Open enrollment is well underway, and people who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act have seen how much their costs will rise without the tax credits.

Republicans, fresh off their US government shutdown victory, now face the task of sorting a health-care mess that risks upending the balance of power in President Donald Trump’s Washington.The moves by GOP leaders to resist Democrats’ demands to protect expiring subsidies for Obamacare as the price for reopening federal agencies will save the government billions of dollars and weaken a program the party has tried repeatedly to kill.

The bill that reopened the government didn't immediately extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act which remain a Congressional sticking point and a critical lifeline for millions of Americans.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar criticized deal to reopen government. Rep. Tony Gonzales calls it a "step in the right direction."

I can’t in good conscience vote for something that further damages an already broken health care system,” Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said in a statement.

The shutdown ended this week after a small group of Democrats made a deal with Republicans senators who promised a vote by mid-December on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. But there is no guaranteed outcome, and many Republicans have made clear they want the credits to expire.

While the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has come to an end, health care costs are still set to soar for millions, with no deal struck by Congress to extend the expiring ACA subsidies.

Senate Republicans rejected an offer from Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a one-year extension of health care tax credits.

By Sriparna Roy and Sneha S K (Reuters) -Shares of health insurers fell about 2% to 10% in early trading on Monday after the U.S. Senate struck a deal to end the 40-day federal shutdown without extending Affordable Care Act subsidies,

The pandemic-era virtual care policies are back in place through Jan. 30. But short-term deals aren’t sustainable, telehealth advocates and providers say.