Several officials running new state-based insurance exchanges that are due to open for enrollment next month said they expected to have access to funds in the case of a shutdown, which if it happens, would also start on October 1, the beginning of the fiscal year…

Independent experts believe that “the effects of a government shutdown on the implementation of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) are likely to be pretty small,” said Paul Van de Water, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based non-profit think tank.

The main reason, he said, is that the money flowing to the 16 states and the nation’s capital that are running their own ACA exchange is what’s called a “permanent appropriation,” enshrined in the 2010 healthcare reform law. Because the funds are not subject to annual appropriations, they will continue to be available to states that need to pay employees and contractors and buy equipment and supplies.

What is even less clear is the ability of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to operate a federal data “hub” that underpins both the state-run exchanges and the 34 state exchanges that fall under the purview of the administration.