"Gladys Harrison, owner of Big Mama's Kitchen and Catering, was already struggling to cover rising food prices for ingredients at the Omaha restaurant that's been in her family for two generations. Then, she got notice last month that her health-care premiums will nearly quadruple next year. "It's all of the things happening at once," said Harrison, 58, one of 24 million Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for insurance."
"Small business owners like Harrison, along with their workers and people who are self-employed, make up nearly half of those enrolled in ACA plans, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health research foundation. Premiums for those plans are expected to jump 114% on average in the new year, when covid-era tax credits expire. The subsidies - which had been at the center of the fight over the US government shutdown - aren't part of a deal winding through Congress to end the 42-day government shutdown."
A two-generation Omaha restaurant owner faces a near-quadrupling of her health-care premium as covid-era ACA tax credits expire, compounding rising food and tariff-driven costs. Nearly half of marketplace enrollees are small business owners, workers, or self-employed, and premiums are projected to rise about 114% on average next year. The subsidies were not included in the current government funding package, leaving only a promised vote to renew them without assurance of passage. Without congressional action, many marketplace enrollees will confront sharp cost increases, likely prompting more work, reduced staff hours, and tightened margins.
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