'Obamacare' starts despite budget row

A key component of Barack Obama’s landmark health care overhaul has begun despite the federal government shutdown sparked by Republicans trying to derail the law designed to extend insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

People will be able to shop for the first time on insurance marketplaces that open around the US, getting their first close look at “Obamacare” – the programme at the centre of the political storm in Washington.