The open enrollment period for Medicare policies started Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7. So my spouse and I went to the Medicare site to review our Medigap and drug insurance policies.

We started with the drug plan and saw a nice surprise. The monthly cost was going down by $2, a reduction of 2%. Not a huge amount. I would have been satisfied with a 2% increase. Inflation is always present, moving costs up.

Our attention then turned to the Medigap policy. All I can say is ouch. It went from $117/month to $181. This is a 54% increase in the monthly cost, or $64.

The Federal Government shutdown is due to Congress not including Affordable Care Act subsidies in the budget. News reports and health care insurance companies are stating that medical insurance costs will be going up 150% to 200% without these subsidies. This is what the fight is all about and the shutdown. Republicans are saying do not worry about it and Democrats are saying no, let’s address the problem now.

It does not matter whether you have tagged yourself as a Republican, Democrat or Independent. If you purchase medical insurance through HealthCare.Gov, what happens to your insurance costs will depend on the subsidies being extended or not. Even MAGA U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has stepped forward to include these subsidies in the pending appropriations bill.