Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode: Rayna Wallace et al., “8 Things to Watch for the 2026 ACA Open Enrollment Period,” October 28, 2025, https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/8-things-to-watch-for-the-2026-aca-open-enrollment-period/, KFF Health News.  Sudiksha Kochi, “Here are 6 ways the government shutdowns could get worse for Americans,” October 29, 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5579889-government-shutdown-americans-pain/, The Hill. Forvis Mazars, “Federal Government Shutdown: Impact on Healthcare Organizations,” October 1, 2025, https://www.forvismazars.us/forsights/2025/10/federal-government-shutdown-impact-on-healthcare-organizations. Sarah Klein, Molly Castle Work, “Positive Outliers: How Some Rural Communities Maintain Access to Labor and Delivery Services,” October 24, 2025, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2025/oct/positive-outliers-how-rural-communities-maintain-access-labor-delivery, The Commonwealth Fund.  Grace Sparks et al., “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Weighs Political Consequences of Health Policy Legislation,” October 3, 2025, https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/kff-health-tracking-poll-public-weighs-political-consequences-of-health-policy-legislation/, KFF Health News. Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.