GA small business owner makes 'heartbreaking' decision to close — thanks to Trump

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gestures at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Cheney Orr//File Photo

When then-President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, into law in 2010, countless Republicans and Tea Party activists attacked it as "socialism." But Obamacare supporters countered that the law would be great for the private sector, including small business owners who suffered from preexisting conditions and would no longer be denied health coverage. And in fact, many self-employed Americans with preexisting conditions — which could be anything from Type 2 diabetes to asthma to psoriasis to heart disease — went from being uninsured to finding health plans via the ACA marketplace on healthcare.gov.

But during President Donald Trump's second presidency, Obamacare — after enjoying record enrollment under former President Joe Biden — is being defunded along with Medicaid. And a Georgia-based small business owner, Teresa Acosta, explains why she is shutting down her business in an article published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) on September 11.

"I worked hard to grow my business," Acosta explains. "Long days were followed by even longer nights, working seven days a week, week after week — running my operations out of my home until I would be able to afford a storefront. Despite those challenges, it was always worth it to chase my passion and provide for my family. In 2022, I was able to take my children off Medicaid and add them to my Affordable Care Act health care plan thanks to expanded tax credits that made it more affordable for me as a single mom and small business owner."

Acosta continues, "This plan covered my son's supplies at a cost I could afford. Even though on Medicaid those supplies were free, I wanted to contribute. I wanted to be a part of the solution, and having access to better care under the ACA was worth the price tag. Having the guarantee of affordable health insurance has been a blessing that I never thought we would see ripped away. "

But now, Acosta laments, many Georgia residents are likely to lose their health coverage.

"In our state," Acosta notes, "nearly 2 million Georgians rely on Medicaid coverage…. Between the drastic cuts to Medicaid, and the changes to the ACA Marketplace, it's projected that the GOP budget bill will rip away that affordable health insurance from 750,000 Georgians…. Just like me, 95 percent of Georgians who buy insurance through the ACA marketplace rely on premium tax credits to afford their insurance. With the signing of the GOP budget bill, those credits are reduced — and insurance premiums and health care costs skyrocket…. Nearly every Georgian who gets their health insurance from the ACA Marketplace relies on the very resources that were just slashed."

Acosta adds, "For me, that means that come January, my premiums will triple, my co-pays will rise, and my son's diabetes supplies will increase dramatically. Despite the love I have for my business, the health of my son and my children is the most important thing in the world to me — and so, I have made the heartbreaking decision to let my business go."

Acosta notes that she will be looking for a job that offers a group plan.

"Ultimately, I hope to find a new job, with an employer-sponsored health care plan to continue affording my son's health care," the Georgia resident writes. "But what does this mean for other small business owners? Already, I've heard from some of my fellow business owners in the food industry who are coming to the realization that they won't be able to afford their health insurance come January — and some of them are worrying about what that means for their ability to keep their doors open and their employees covered."

Teresa Acosta's full op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is available at this link (subscription required).

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