OPINION: Health Insurance Premium Tax Credits Kept Me Covered
Opinion by Himali Patel.
As a small business owner, even before the pandemic, I’ve relied on the ACA marketplace for my health insurance. And as I have multiple auto-immune diseases, I can not live without it.
Before the pandemic struck, my brother and I owned five small retail businesses together.
Now, two plus years into the pandemic, we are still down to one — a dry-cleaning establishment.
I am one of the more than seven hundred thousand Georgians who continue to see reduced healthcare costs thanks to the American Rescue Plan championed by President Biden and Democrats.
I had been paying four hundred dollars a month for my health insurance, but with the American Rescue Plan premium tax credits, I now pay thirty dollars per month.
This has been a lifesaver for me. I don’t have to make the impossible choice between food or my medications – I need both to stay alive.
That’s why I was deeply honored to witness President Biden’s signing of the Executive Order to fix the Family Glitch in Washington, DC.
I know President Biden and Georgia Democrats in U.S. Congress are fighting to make quality, affordable healthcare available for everyone in the United States.
Along with measures to lower prescription drug prices, improve health benefits for seniors, and expand coverage, Democrats’ plans will lower the cost of living for Georgians from all walks of life.
In contrast, every Georgia Republican is standing with the GOP’s agenda to gut the health care we count on, raising premiums, and hiking taxes on half of the country.
These tax credits have been a crucial lifeline for families during the pandemic – and now is the time to make them permanent.
Georgians like me are looking for Congress to act with urgency and lock in these lower health care costs before they expire.
In the wealthiest nation on earth, no one should have to choose between putting food on the table and affording the health care they need to survive. I urge all Georgia members of Congress to make these gains permanent to take one step closer to making health care a right in the United States of America.
(END / Copyright Atlanta Progressive News / 2022)