ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With the government shutdown approaching the four-week mark, time is running out to extend enhanced health care tax credits before open enrollment begins for Affordable Care Act health plans on Nov. 1.

What You Need To Know

Government shutdown has led to uncertain future costs in health care 

Rising rates could have a negative impact on consumers and small businesses 

Tax credits for health care expire on Nov. 1

Jenny Miller, a proud business owner in St. Petersburg, runs The Body Electric Yoga Company. She has a large staff and more than a thousand clients. Health care costs are on her mind right now, and she said that if 2026 premiums go up, many of her employees would feel the impact.

“It affects us a lot,” Miller said. “A good third of our staff uses marketplace Medicaid. We have single parents on staff, so everything that is increasing people’s cost of living hurts because, you know, rents have gone up and up.”

Miller worries that more expensive health care could force some of her employees to move out of the Tampa Bay area.

The uncertainty about future health care costs is also affecting organizations like the Family Health Foundation, which helps people find the best Affordable Care Act plans on the marketplace.

“I have a lot of people that I’ve worked with since the beginning of the health insurance marketplace that I’m trying to schedule appointments for, for open enrollment. And they all are really even hesitant,” said Linette Lacey, consumer experience supervisor and senior navigator at the foundation.

“I just tell people that we don’t have the prices for 2026 and give me a call back next week and I’ll try and, you know, hopefully we’ll have them,” Lacey said. “This is really unusual this year.”

As for Miller, she — like so many others — is waiting for answers.

“I think it’ll be a struggle to keep staff,” she said. “We want excellent people, you know, and they want to be here, but there’s only so much you can do.”

As the government shutdown continues, Miller said she’s in a holding pattern. She hopes lawmakers can find a way to minimize any cost increases and that the resolution comes soon.

Republican lawmakers like Florida Sen. Rick Scott argue this will be addressed when the shutdown ends, saying, “Premiums are going up whether it gets extended or not. Premiums are going up because health care costs are going up. Because Obamacare is a disaster.”