“The only road I could see for myself was the road to disability,” said Christy Annis, a Tampa Bay resident who returned to the U.S. in July and has benefited from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “This is a very, very scary country to walk around in without insurance, because one little mistake will take away your financial future.”
Annis testified during a meeting hosted by Democratic Representative Kathy Castor on Oct. 16. Castor is pushing for ACA credit extensions amid a government shutdown that has now exceeded 17 days. The crux of the shutdown: Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on affordable health care funding.
Local St. Pete business owner Jenny Miller, of Body Electric Yoga Company, argued that the ACA tax credit isn’t just about health benefits, but about keeping small businesses like hers competitive.
Employees who have young kids or whose parents have died “want to be there,” said Miller, but her business is struggling to stay competitive since it cannot afford to provide health benefits.
“About 20% of our staff rely on ACA and Medicaid,” said Miller. “Small businesses need all the help they can get… all the small business owners I know have the same struggle,” she added, noting that many are shuttering for this reason — especially when compounded by post-COVID woes, hurricanes and inflation.
Amanda Partilla, who works as a risk manager, responded to Miller’s conundrum: “Operating costs will eventually exceed what you can produce. It has nothing to do with the business… there’s no reason you should sink all [your finances] into care that should be there… It’s just another gut punch.”
Partilla, Annis, and Castor criticized Republicans for bailing out Argentina for $20 billion “when [they] could take care of the Americans in this country.”
The optics have become a point of political tension, with Castor, among other Democrats, accusing Republicans of obstructing progress and reneging on the America First agenda.
Republicans have offered an exchange: if Democrats agree to pass the CR, a temporary funding bill, then they will address the ACA cuts. In response, Castor said, “We need to cancel the [ACA] cuts immediately. This needs to be hammered down now to avert this health care crisis.”
However, Castor did not address the proposed exchange to placate Republicans by agreeing to the CR in exchange for addressing ACA cuts afterward.
Meanwhile, the government shutdown continues, and small business owners like Miller are concerned this could mean a mass exodus of employees, and therefore her whole business model.