Bethany Allen is the owner and operator of Harvest Tide Organics in Bowdoinham.

I remember when the Affordable Care Act passed, and I was just starting out as a farm apprentice. As an uninsured 20-something, I was wavering on whether I could continue farming. Being able to afford health insurance changed my life.

I meant it then, and I still mean it today. Affordable health insurance allowed me as a 25-year-old to continue managing Maine farms and learning more about how to run an operation for myself, despite changing jobs. Five years later, it allowed my partner and I to start our own farm business.

What was true for me as a new farmer is even more important now that I’m raising a family, running a business and supporting a team of employees.

For more than 10 years, my partner Eric and I have operated Harvest Tide Organics here in Bowdoinham. Our farm is a certified organic vegetable farm that supports our family of four and employs 15 people, 10 of them full-time, year-round Mainers. We’re a family-run business, and our farm is our only income. Every year we feed thousands of Mainers through our CSA and vegetable sales.

Thanks to the enhanced premium tax credits (APTCs) that were expanded in 2021, we’ve been able to keep stable, affordable health insurance for our family. These credits lower the monthly cost of health insurance for people who buy coverage on the exchange — like my family and most of my employees — and the expanded version made more people eligible while also increasing the amount of help available.

This has meant that even with all the ups and downs of farming and the swings of income that come with growing a farm business, we have kept our family insured.

But now, with the shutdown in Washington, the future of these credits is uncertain. Mainers are already receiving premium notices showing sharp increases in health insurance costs if Congress doesn’t act. And with open enrollment starting Nov. 1, families are being forced to make decisions about their coverage right now, without knowing whether they’ll still have the help they’ve been counting on.

The credits made it possible for working families like ours to keep coverage while prices were rising all around us. They helped lower premiums for tens of thousands of Mainers — 54,795 in 2025, to be exact — and made insurance more accessible to people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but don’t have employer-sponsored plans.

People just like us and most farmers we know. Middle-income Maine households could face an average increase of $705 per month in premium costs without the credits. That’s a 125% rise in their current premiums and would amount to nearly 10% of their household income.

We love what we do. Feeding our community from land that we care for is nearly our whole life. The work we do every day can seem idyllic, and we know we’re lucky to do it. But make no mistake, our farm family needs what all working families need: secure access to affordable health care — and the enhanced premium tax credits are what make that possible.

The economic risks associated with farming are far from romantic, and it’s full of unpredictable challenges, from late frosts to labor shortages to supply chain issues. What if one of us ends up in the ER? On a farm, you’re never far from that risk. One bad fall or sudden illness could mean thousands in out-of-pocket costs.

That’s why having affordable health insurance has been absolutely critical. But right now, that affordable, accessible health care is on the line. If Congress doesn’t act immediately, premiums will spike just as Mainers are trying to enroll for next year’s coverage.

This level of uncertainty makes it nearly impossible for families like mine to plan, budget and stay afloat. We’re not asking for gold-plated benefits, we just need coverage we can afford, and Congress should keep it that way.

If the tax credits expire, it will create a serious financial strain that could affect every part of our business. Our margins are already thin. There’s no extra pile of cash to cover hundreds more per month in premiums. We’ll have to make impossible choices, between insurance and payroll, insurance and supplies, insurance and staying in business.

And it’s not just us about us as farm owners. We, like so many small businesses in Maine, rely on employees who purchase their health care on the exchange. If farm workers like our employees lose access to affordable coverage, some of them will go uninsured. They’ll delay care. They’ll take risks with their health, because they can’t afford not to.

Perhaps, like 25-year-old me, they’ll reconsider working in agriculture at all. For the folks whose hard work feeds Mainers that’s not right, and it’s not sustainable.

Affordable health insurance is one of the most important tools small businesses like ours have to stay afloat. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for a fair shot. These tax credits are working. They’re helping families, supporting rural economies and giving small business owners the confidence to hire, expand and keep going.

Congress needs to end this shutdown and agree to extend these tax credits now. Letting them lapse would place an unnecessary burden on millions of Americans, including thousands of Mainers and the people who grow your food.

We’ve weathered floods, frost and pandemics. We’ve stayed rooted in our community and committed to our team. But the threat of losing our health insurance? That’s the one thing we can’t afford.