To Support Entrepreneurship, Make the ACA Stronger

The Trump Administration’s announcement last week that they will press federal courts to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act is causing anxiety for millions of Americans, but one particular group is especially nervous: entrepreneurs.

It’s often overlooked that 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States are small and medium businesses. These are your local caterers, landscapers, electricians, house cleaners and personal trainers.

As the CEO of a technology company that helps these entrepreneurs grow their businesses, I spend my time focused on what they need to thrive. Thumbtack exists to solve the problem they name as their top priority: finding new customers.

But the second biggest issue that these business owners name is getting access to benefits like health insurance. Since 2014, the ACA has helped address that problem for millions of self-employed small business owners, who, based on our analysis of HHS survey data, are four times more likely to get health insurance through the ACA exchange than traditional employees.

Before the ACA, entrepreneurs and small businesses were largely on their own when it came to finding health insurance. Some turned to associations for plans, some relied on spouses for family coverage, and far too many rolled the dice and went without coverage. For those who wanted to find individual coverage, it was difficult to compare plans and prices, and the cost was often astronomical. As a result, many Americans felt locked into jobs that provided them benefits, and they put off following their dream of starting their own enterprise.

Nearly a quarter of the small business professionals using Thumbtack tell us that the availability of benefits like health insurance was a major factor in their decision to start their business. Having access to affordable healthcare gives people the confidence and the safety net they need to take the risk of being an entrepreneur and creating new opportunity.

Since the ACA went into effect, millions of individuals have gained access to affordable health care. The health insurance exchanges give individuals and small businesses clear options for coverage, and free up the time spent searching on their own for benefits or worrying about going without insurance to spend instead on building their business.

These professionals hail from nearly every county in the country. They’re not just diverse in profession; they’re politically diverse too. These are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Socialists and Tea Partiers.

And yet they overwhelmingly support the major pillars of the ACA. Eighty-one percent want to let children stay on their parents’ plan until they’re 26. Eighty percent support government subsidies to help with premiums. Seventy-seven percent support Medicaid expansion. Sixty-nine percent agree that pre-existing conditions shouldn’t block your ability to get coverage.

The ACA is far from perfect and there is much to be improved. Small business owners need lower and more stable premium costs, more affordable prescription drugs, and more plan choices. These are improvements that Congress and the Administration can and should make.

But without ACA, would-be entrepreneurs will once again have to choose between following their dreams or staying put in jobs that offer health benefits. No one in America should be forced to make that choice.