American Rescue Plan Supports Small Businesses

For Jim Michener and his wife, owners of the Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. in Sitka, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) has finally made health insurance affordable. Before April 1st, they were not quite eligible to get any health insurance aid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but the costs of health insurance premiums on the open market were not actually affordable.  

“Through the Affordable Care Act, if you made over 400% of the federal poverty line adjusted for your region, (about $41,000 for someone in Southeast Alaska) you couldn’t get any assistance. Now, the benchmark plans cannot cost you more than nine and a half percent of your adjusted gross income. So say you make $100,000 a year; a benchmark plan cannot cost you more than $9,500, which actually gets to be affordable for people,” explains Michener. 

For one third the cost of health insurance three months ago, Michener and his wife now have a reasonable, affordable plan and peace of mind because of the ARP.

The new adjustments offer benchmark health care plans depending on what health care costs are in your region. In Sitka, Premera Blue Cross offers bronze, silver, and gold levels. Contact the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Patient Health Benefits for more information on health insurance and to get help through the process.

In addition to providing affordable health care to Americans and small businesses, the ARP is helping relieve some of the other challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include vaccinations, stimulus checks, housing and nutrition assistance, other aid to small businesses, school reopening resources, expanded child tax credits, and access to safe and reliable childcare. As Southeast Alaskans, we appreciate our leaders who voted for and are implementing this policy that supports small locally owned and operated businesses in our Southeast communities.