U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), one of the few elected Republicans to speak out against President Trump’s tariffs agenda, says that — early on in the shutdown — most of his constituents in Kentucky are more worried about tariffs than the federal government pause or the healthcare issues at the root of it.

But given the rising cost of health insurance, the number of small businesses considering level funded plans has grown substantially. The Kaiser Foundation has found that the number of small employers offering level funded health plans has increased from 13% in 2020 to about 40% by 2023.

Nearly half the people who get health insurance through the HealthCare.gov marketplace own or work at small businesses or are self-employed.

Three different surveys reflect the degree to which employers expect — and dread — their workplace health care expenses will spike next year. Those include recently released findings by consulting firm Mercer that showed the 1,700 companies it queried ...

Across the individual market — where roughly 126,000 Oregonians buy plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, commonly known as Obamacare — insurers will raise premiums next year by nearly 9.7% on average. That’s up slightly from last year’s 9.3% average increase.