Hinson picks a shutdown over health care credits

GUEST COLUMN

CHERYL WIESELER

As a small-business owner in northeast Iowa, I depend on the ACA marketplace for my health insurance, and many people who run small businesses are in the same boat as me. Now, because of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and the votes of Republicans in Congress, including Rep. Ashley Hinson, health insurance premiums are skyrocketing.

And it doesn’t stop there. Hinson’s support for tariffs also is driving up the cost of supplies. As someone who bakes and caters from my home, I rely on local, farm-to-table ingredients, but I also need other products that aren’t grown or made here, such as chocolate and packaging materials. Those costs are rising. Between higher grocery bills and skyrocketing insurance premiums, the policies Hinson supports in Congress are hurting working families and small-business owners like me.

Republicans jumped at the chance to carve out massive tax breaks for billionaires when they passed their “Big, Ugly Bill” back in July. But now, when over 20 million hardworking Americans like me are about to lose the tax credits we rely on to afford our health care, Hinson and congressional Republicans are nowhere to be found.

No matter how you get your insurance, Iowans should be livid about this.

Millions of Americans, including Iowans, who purchase health insurance on our own receive tax credits that help us afford our premiums. Republicans have decided to end those credits.

You might not know it yet, but if you buy insurance on your own like I do, you’re in for a 114 percent percent premium increase, on average, compared to 2025 average premiums, according to KFF, an independent source of health care research. The 2026 average out-of-pocket cost would be $1,904 compared to $888 this year.

Currently, insurance companies are sending out notices informing us that our premiums are about to increase significantly. Families like mine will have to find a way to squeeze extra dollars out of their budgets every month just to keep healthy.

But even if you don’t buy insurance on your own, these cost hikes will hurt you, too. That means two things for everyone who is insured: Longer emergency room waits, and higher emergency room bills as hospitals struggle to cover the costs for the uninsured who can’t afford treatment.

Republicans are using their power to decimate health care. Across the country, hospitals, clinics and nursing homes are already cutting back or closing their doors because the GOP decided to slash health care funding to pay for billionaire tax breaks. Republicans claim they have to cut health care funding to save money, but they always seem to find more money to hand out to their ultra-wealthy friends.

Rep. Hinson claims to support small businesses, but I have one question for her: Rep. Hinson, you voted for massive tax breaks to help out your rich donors. When are you going to go back to Washington and save the tax credits I, and millions of small business owners, rely on to stay healthy and keep food on our families’ tables?

Cheryl Wieseler, who owns a micro bakery in Decorah with her husband, a carpenter, relies on the Affordable Care Act for health insurance.