John Gold co-owns an editing and graphic design company in Saco.

I am 63 years old, and self-employed. For most of my working life, I’ve had to pay for my own insurance. Since 2013, I’ve been able to do that through the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace.

I currently have a bronze level plan with a $7,500 deductible and a $10,000 annual cap on expenses. It’s not great coverage, but it provides me with some benefits and a sense of security that I will not be left buried in debt if I should experience a significant health event — which, at my age, is possible. I’m far from the only one; there are thousands of people in Maine who are in the same position as I am.

Until the end of last year, that plan was reasonably affordable. My premium last year was $138 per month. On January 1, the premium for the same plan rose to $1,387 per month, a 10-fold increase. Again, that’s for a plan that pays very little until I’ve spent $7,500 and even then doesn’t cover everything. And that plan only covers me.

If the coming year is a good year — meaning I avoid any contact with the medical establishment — I will have to pay $16,644 in premiums. If it’s a bad year, well that could go as high as $26,644.

I am in generally good health. But at my age, I do not dare go without insurance. If I have to, I will come up with the $16,644 — because that obscenely high figure is still less than the potential cost of a major health event, which I know that can happen in the blink of an eye.

To help cover that cost, I will cut back in other areas. I will be spending less at local businesses, restaurants and organizations. I will reduce my charitable donations. That is less money going into the local economy.

Despite this, I consider myself lucky. While this is a significant financial burden, I can manage it. There are many others who cannot and will be going without insurance. They will spend the next year worrying about their health, possibly putting off visits to their doctors because they fear the cost of an uninsured medical bill.

During the government shutdown, I wrote to Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, asking them to support health insurance for working, taxpaying Americans. Despite this, both King and Collins voted to reopen the government without resolving the health insurance issue, both stating, however, that this would be an issue they would focus on once the government reopened.

Well, that day has come.

I agree there is much that needs to be fixed in our health care system. It is far from perfect. And I agree that the ACA is not the ultimate solution. But for now, it is the best option we have and while flawed, works for so many people who otherwise would have no other decent alternative for health care. For something which both King and Collins (and the rest of our elected representatives) have, generously supplied by our taxes.

We are not asking for a luxury item here. We are not asking for a free ride. We are simply asking for the opportunity to stay healthy, to remain working and productive, without going broke.

The current package of reforms being debated might be a start towards making things better, but they won’t solve the problem of unaffordable health care costs overnight and they will not fix the immediate issue facing millions of Americans — reasonably affordable health insurance.

Fix that first, then tackle the larger issues of our bloated and overpriced health care system. I implore both Sen. King and Sen. Collins to demand that the enhanced premium credits be reinstated.