Affordable Care Act debate central to government shutdown

News Snapshot:

A soybean export crisis is already jeopardizing Minnesota farmers’ financial health. Now Congress is set to deliver another blow to their bottom lines by rolling back the Affordable Care Act‘s enhanced financial aid, which lowers monthly premium costs for many farm families, just as 2026 coverage costs are set to soar. Cratering soybean sales to China are fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade war. The ACA’s enhanced aid, which made many middle-class consumers newly eligible for assistance, was first enacted in 2021 and then renewed for three years in 2022. It sunsets this year. But it doesn’t have to, and...