LETTER: Hoping Murkowski resists repeal

To the editor:

As a small business owner, I hope that Senator Murkowski will oppose this latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The ACA has been essential to the success of many entrepreneurs like me, and replacing it with a sub-par plan would be detrimental to the small business community.

Before the passage of the ACA, I was struggling to provide insurance for my employees and my family because our insurance costs were escalating at an alarming rate. But after the law passed, our rates began to stabilize, and I continued to provide a small group plan for our employees even though I was not required to. Eventually, my family found coverage elsewhere, but we helped our employees obtain subsidized individual insurance through Healthcare.gov. Now my employees enjoy quality coverage at an affordable price, but I'm worried that repeal will leave them high and dry, as they will not be able to afford it without a tax credit.

That’s why I hope Senator Murkowski and the rest of Congress will support small businesses by will dropping efforts to repeal the law, and instead work on bipartisan improvements to the ACA.

— Deborah Rutherford

Palmer