While the standoff continuing the government shutdown appears to be essentially over, that's not necessarily good news for Illinois residents who buy their insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Those residents will likely end up wrestling with high healthcare costs or having to consider whether or not they can afford insurance at all.

"This whole standoff strategy appears to not be working, and the question is just when will the deal be finalized," said Stephanie Armour, senior health policy correspondent at KFF Health News.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about heath issues. Armour explained a vote on extending subsidies under the ACA would take place in December, but she doesn't expect Congress to approve the extension.

"Considering that this is becoming, like, a hot potato now, I think there's gonna be some real reticence to do a band-aid fix," she said.

The Illinois Department of Insurance estimates there could be a 78% increase in premiums statewide if Congress allows subsidies to expire. In other words, the statewide average premium of $260 a month will turn into $464 every month.

Different counties will feel the impact differently; for example, Cook County will see an estimated average 95% increase and Will County will see an estimated average 83% increase. It all depends on which plans are offered where you live.

And if the subsidies aren't extended, the consequences could be catastrophic for individuals.

"Almost 5 million people are likely to drop out of the insurance market and become totally uninsured," said Stephen Nuñez, Director of Stratification Economics at the Roosevelt Institute.  

Nuñez said, ultimately. the impact could be bigger than that.

"Because the hospitals aren't going to leave people to die in the streets. They're not allowed to, legally. So the question is who's going to bear that cost? And the answer is, one way or another, society is going to pay for it. So the question is how do we structure it in a way so that the most vulnerable among us aren't the ones footing the bill?" he said.  

Nuñez said the news of a possible deal to end the shutdown means one of three things.

"One answer is that no help is on the way. Another answer is, there's a possibility that they'll get this done during open enrollment, and then there's another possibility that they'll get it done after open enrollment, and they'll either then have to decide whether to do a special enrollment session, or to ask people to wait until tax time to get compensated," he said.

More than 500,000 Illinois residents, or about 91% of Illinois residents with exchange plans, currently qualify for these credits. The state says southern rural communities will see much higher increases.