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Many state regulators are approving sharp rate increases for Affordable Care Act insurance plans that will be sold next year, as they are forced to make decisions despite the latest uncertainty about the law’s future. The 2018 premiums for ACA plans are supposed to be locked in Wednesday, under a federal deadline, at the same time that Republicans in the Senate are moving toward a potential vote next week on legislation that would scrap most of the health law. (Wilde Mathews, 9/20)

Insurance companies blindsided by the Senate GOP’s decision to pull the plug on bipartisan talks and move forward again with ObamaCare repeal are scrambling to figure out how to move forward. The death of the bipartisan push leaves them with no clear way to shore up fragile marketplaces ahead of the 2018 enrollment season, which begins Nov. 1. (Roubein, 9/21)

Hundreds of thousands of Illinois consumers who buy health insurance on the state's Obamacare exchange will likely see average rates increase by 16 percent to 37 percent next year for the lowest-priced plans, according to a new analysis. The Illinois Department of Insurance submitted rates to the federal government Wednesday that would increase the average cost of the lowest-priced silver plans by 35 percent statewide. (Schencker, 9/20)

After the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it was slashing its Obamacare marketing budget by 90 percent on Aug. 31, agency spokespeople cited “diminishing returns” from its television, radio and Internet ads that encourage people to sign up for health insurance. (Gorenstein, 9/20)