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Survey: As Shutdown Continues, 87% of Small Business Owners Want ACA Tax Credits Made Permanent

National survey finds overwhelming support among small businesses for making enhanced ACA tax credits permanent before imminent expiration triggers severe financial strain; 72% say Congress’ healthcare priorities are misaligned with small business needs

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 22, 2025 – Eighty-seven percent of small business owners want Congress to make the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits at the center of the government shutdown debate permanent, according to a new national survey from Small Business for America's Future. Without the credits, 84% are concerned about their ability to afford healthcare, and if premiums spike as projected, more than a third would face severe financial strains threatening their operations while nearly a quarter would be forced to drop employee coverage entirely.

The survey of 620 small business owners reveals an affordability crisis that cuts deep for Main Street. Roughly 5 million small business owners rely on ACA marketplaces and could lose coverage when these credits expire. Small business owners make up about 25% of all marketplace enrollees, a disproportionately high share compared to the broader population. ACA marketplace premiums could double in 2026 when the tax credits expire Dec. 31, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“We’re watching healthcare costs create a two-tiered economy,” said Small Business for America’s Future Co-Chair Walt Rowen, owner of Susquehanna Glass Company in Columbia, Pa. “More than 80% of small business owners say rising healthcare costs put us at a severe disadvantage compared to large corporations that can self-insure. The consequences are brutal. Whether we offer health insurance or help employees access affordable marketplace coverage, when premiums spike, we face the same threat: losing our best employees to companies that can offer better benefits.”

“Higher costs are crushing small businesses. From devastating health care cuts to tariff chaos to skyrocketing energy prices, small businesses are struggling to compete, grow, hire, and even survive,” said Senator Markey, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. "Today’s survey results show what we already knew – small businesses need real relief now. We must protect small businesses and employees by reversing the Trump administration’s harmful policies and stop Main Street from becoming Pain Street.”

Small business owners say that the expiration of the tax credits and soaring healthcare costs could trigger a cascade of economic impacts for small businesses:

• More than half of business owners have already cut their own compensation due to combined economic pressures ranging from rising healthcare costs to tariff fallout and inflation 
• 41% of those surveyed said they would be forced to increase prices to their customers
• About one in four would freeze hiring or delay expansion plans for their businesses
• One in five would reduce their workforce
• More than a third of small business owners say the combined pressure of healthcare costs and other economic factors threatens their ability to stay in business

The healthcare cost crisis facing small businesses comes after Congress passed H.R. 1, a $2+ trillion tax package that helped the wealthy and large corporations but failed to extend the ACA tax credits and cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid. Seventy-two percent of small business owners surveyed said Congressional priorities are misaligned with small business needs, and, as the shutdown continues, they want Congress to make the tax credits permanent.

“Small businesses employ nearly half the people in this country. We are the backbone of the American economy, and our success is everyone’s success,” said SBAF network member Ja'Net Adams, owner of EMACK Consulting LLC in Kernersville, N.C. “When soaring healthcare costs threaten small businesses, they threaten millions of jobs, families, and communities. Congress needs to focus on policies that will help us, like making the tax credits permanent. These aren’t radical ideas. They’re common-sense solutions that would help us succeed.”

The survey shows small business owners across the political spectrum agree on a number of policy solutions to rein in the cost of healthcare:

• 87% support making the enhanced ACA premium tax credits permanent
• 95% support allowing small businesses to join together for group purchasing power
• 94% support extending Medicare drug price negotiations to private insurance
• 92% support capping commercial drug price increases at the inflation rate
• 92% support providing tax credits for small businesses offering employees Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA)
• 96% support hospital price transparency enforcement to enable comparison shopping

The survey was conducted Sept. 23-Oct. 14, 2025, and included 620 small business owners from diverse industries across all 50 states. Thirty percent of respondents identified as Democrats, 22% as Republicans and 46% as neither. 

To schedule an interview with a representative from Small Business for America's Future, contact Janel Knight Trulear at janel@emccommunications.com or 617-875-6581.

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About Small Business for America's Future
Small Business for America's Future is a national coalition of business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We're committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize Main Street by advancing a just and equitable economic framework that works for small business owners, their employees, and their communities. For more information, visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org.