January 19, 2017 — Chris Welch, a Kennebunk lobsterman, had never purchased health insurance before the Affordable Care Act started offering individual marketplace insurance in 2013. He’s maintained the benefits ever since, even though as a healthy 28-year-old he doesn’t need to use his insurance that often.
Welch is among the thousands of people who work in Maine’s iconic lobster and fishing industries who could have their ACA insurance taken away if the law is repealed without a comprehensive replacement. Congress has set the wheels in motion to repeal the ACA, and lawmakers are debating whether to immediately replace it, and if so, with what plan. Lawmakers have yet to coalesce around a replacement plan, and the incoming Trump administration has not yet revealed a proposal.
There’s no exact count of how many fishermen or lobstermen have purchased ACA insurance, but U.S. Census data indicate robust enrollment in the industry.
Coastal communities with large numbers of self-employed workers have some of the highest percentages of residents signed up for ACA insurance, according to a ZIP code analysis of 2016 enrollment data from the federal government and workforce data from the U.S. Census.
For instance, on North Haven and Vinalhaven islands, both on the midcoast and known for the lobster industry, 22 percent and 21 percent of the people on each island, respectively, have ACA insurance, among the highest rates in the state. Forty-seven percent of Vinalhaven households include a person who is self-employed, while on North Haven it’s 38 percent, among the highest levels of self-employment in Maine.
Other coastal fishing communities with high ACA enrollment levels include Pemaquid, Round Pond, Beals and Brooklin.
The ACA’s individual marketplace was designed to be a place where those who can’t obtain insurance through an employer – such as a self-employed fisherman or a part-time worker – can purchase subsidized insurance. About 80,000 Mainers have health benefits through the ACA.
“If a repeal happens, it’s going to be a big hurt for these communities,” said Emily Brostek, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, an Augusta-based health advocacy nonprofit. “These are industries that we care about in Maine, but that don’t traditionally offer medical benefits.”
Congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump have vowed to repeal President Obama’s signature health care legislation, which could leave more than 20 million Americans without insurance, depending on what a replacement bill looks like.
Welch, who has operated his own lobster boat since he was 16, has had health insurance since 2014, seeing it as a way to protect his health and finances.
“I didn’t have insurance prior to the ACA, and I wouldn’t have got it if it weren’t for the ACA,” said Welch, who estimates he pays about $220 a month for the benefits.