While our government might be reopening and returning to “business as usual,” it is not “business as usual” for small businesses across Montana. We are the ones left holding the bag as healthcare costs skyrocket for our families and employees.
We represent everyday businesses from across Montana. We work day in and day out to help build the Montana we love, each of us contributing in our own way.
One of us runs a gift apparel shop in Uptown Butte, celebrating the city’s rich character and history. Another operates a same-day delivery service, transporting urgent supplies across Southwest Montana. Another provides quality mental healthcare through a local therapy practice, supporting the well-being of our communities.
Like many small business owners, we built our work from the ground up providing essential services that keep our communities healthy and running. But without extending the enhanced Premium Tax Credits, our businesses and communities will struggle to survive.
Like 77,000 other Montanans, many of whom are self-employed small business owners, we purchase our healthcare through the Affordable Care Act and rely on the enhanced Premium Tax Credits to afford coverage that meets our families’ needs.
And like so many others, we are struggling with an unprecedented spike in costs. One of us, for example, is seeing a $1,700 a month increase for the same family plan, a jump of more than $20,000 a year. This is simply unsustainable. It will harm our families, and it will absolutely impact how our businesses operate.
Small businesses are the heart of Montana’s communities.
We donate to local nonprofits, youth sports, we hire locally, and reinvest in the places we call home. But if the enhanced PTCs are not extended and costs remain high, many of us will be forced to scale back our operations and reduce our community support, leading to less vibrant communities with sicker people.
We are now facing an impossible choice between our family’s health and our businesses, something no Montana family or business owner should ever be asked to do. We know the ACA is not perfect, but now is not the time for political games. We need representatives who understand the realities small businesses face and are willing to act.
We urge Senator Daines, Senator Sheehy, Representative Zinke, and Representative Downing to extend the enhanced Premium Tax Credits immediately and stand with small businesses and families, like ours, across the state.
Lynae and Adam Axelson, Same Day Delivery
Donna Ryngala, Ph.D., Inner Journey Healthcare
Jon Wick, 5518 Designs