To the editor:
As the owners of Took a Leap Farm, my husband and are known for taking big leaps — and in early 2016, we took one of our biggest with the purchase of The Vault Restaurant in downtown Houlton. This leap was enabled by the Affordable Care Act, through which we have been able to receive the medical care and prescription medication we require for our pre-existing conditions. Without the security afforded by this program, I would not have been able to leave my corporate job to pursue the entrepreneurial path of a small business owner.
Now, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) threatens to eliminate that security by leaving more than 14 million currently-covered individuals — like us — without health care insurance. It threatens our business, as will need to step away from the restaurant to return to a job with employer-sponsored health care benefits.
Rather than working alongside my husband to grow the business, I now find myself in a position of working with him to make the restaurant sustainable for him to run alone. Where we had hoped to be able to implement some new plans and hire additional staff, we’re now working to make sure that our current employees have enough hours to meet their needs.
And we’re not alone, based on my conversations with other small business owners. The AHCA legislation is far from small business friendly, despite all of the Republicans’ stated concern for this community.
I am fortunate that I have the choice to return to work — albeit out of state — with employer-sponsored benefits, because many of the four million people who will be affected by this ill conceived legislation do not. Under the AHCA, with its significantly smaller end-of-year tax credits instead of monthly subsidies, health care coverage will no longer be affordable for many, including the small businesses that serve our communities.
I encourage people concerned about the future of accessible, affordable health care in Aroostook County to contact Senators Collins and King and Representative Poliquin to express support for legislation that creates health care security for all.
Kathryn Harnish
Houlton
