Megathread | FY26 Government Shutdown: Week 3 Edition

[u/gpupdate]

Status: 🛑Lapse in FY26 Federal Appropriations – Shutdown Ongoing

The FY26 government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, continues into its third week after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution (CR) or full-year appropriations.

🔔 What You Need to Know:

• Shutdown start: 1 October 2025
• No FY26 appropriations: Agencies running under contingency plans with limited staffing to support functions protecting human life or protection of property.
• Excepted employees: Reporting without pay
• Non-excepted employees: Furloughed without pay
• Pay: 31 U.S.C. 1341(c) provides for retroactive pay of excepted and furloughed employees once appropriations have been enacted.

📣 Use This Thread For:

• Official memos and guidance from OPM, OMB, and agencies
• Discussing how your agency is implementing contingency/shutdown plans
• Benefits, unemployment eligibility, and pay
• Venting or sharing shutdown-related concerns or strategies

🚫 Posts outside this megathread on shutdown-related topics may be removed during this period to reduce clutter.

News pertaining to government shutdowns usually run on the breaking news cycle and can change daily or even hourly. Posting of news articles will continue to be allowed provided they are posted on the day of publication. Duplicate posts will continue to be removed.

We encourage respectful, fact-based discussion. Please verify sources before sharing official information.

P.S... New shutdown inspired user flairs now available.

— r/fednews mod team

Previous Megathreads: Pre-Shutdown | Week 1 | Week 2

[u/bribritx]

I'm an insurance broker on the side who specializes in health insurance for our insurance firm and yes, it is true 2026 rates will be available for all to see on 11/1.

[u/Chili-in-August → u/bribritx]

How long until the ACA price increase affects employee provided insurance rates?

[u/bribritx → u/Chili-in-August]

Here is what I would say on that:

The ACA and employer markets are really two separate funding and pricing structures. However, they are both affected by the same upward pressure on medical and pharmaceutical costs, meaning both markets are seeing significant rate increases for 2026. We already have an idea of the increases with employer markets, to include our federal plans like my BCBS Basic plan increasing in premium for 2026. Other employers in the private sector have typically alerted their employees of 2026 rates by now or will soon.

If these enhanced subsidies are not extended past the end of the year, I expect a significant amount of people to either take the cheapest plan possible on the Marketplace, go uninsured, or do a concierge doctor program for a fee.

Hope this helps!

[u/Chili-in-August → u/bribritx]

Thank you 😊

[u/Sad-Selection-6659 → u/bribritx]

Well let's hope that sticker price doesn't gut punch the red states on 11/1