Small businesses are the lifeblood of Georgia’s economy, accounting for 1.2 million jobs or 42.5 percent of all employment in our state. But no small business can go it alone. They need access to affordable capital to get started and then to scale and grow. 

For nearly 25 years, I have led Albany Community Together, which helps build wealth and create economic opportunities in Georgia by providing affordable access to capital and business support services for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in 38 western and southwestern counties. We support various community-based small businesses – from restaurants and beauty salons to daycare centers and accountants – by helping to connect them to capital and business development services and identify new market opportunities. We have assisted more than 235 small businesses obtain over $45 million in capital since our doors opened in 1997. 

Increasingly, I see access to affordable health care as a critical issue challenging the viability of small businesses in our state. Business owners need healthcare coverage for themselves and their families, or they may be forced to shut down and seek a job with a large employer to gain that benefit. And, to hire employees in our state’s tight labor market, health insurance is no longer optional; it is absolutely essential. 

Despite the need for healthcare coverage, too many small business owners and their employees fall in the so-called “coverage gap.” They earn too much income to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private health insurance. In other words, they are left entirely without affordable health insurance options. This is particularly common for newer small businesses, as they are just getting off the ground and building their customer base.

Closing this coverage gap would strengthen the health, economy, and social wellbeing of our state by providing health care coverage to 500,000 of our fellow Georgians, more than 60 percent of whom are people of color. This includes farmers, veterans, part-time and hourly workers and their families who earn just above the federal poverty level. And it includes tens of thousands of small business owners and their employees, who may be just one illness away from financial ruin and business closure. 

New research finds that closing the coverage gap would bring many economic benefits, including an estimated 51,000 new jobs statewide, mostly in fields outside of health care. And each Georgia household would see an average annual increase of nearly $900 in personal income.

There is another benefit to closing the coverage gap: more people entering the workforce. In states that closed their coverage gap, labor force participation increased six percent or more, a significant boost for a state like ours where many jobs go unfilled.  

Closing the coverage gap is also fiscally responsible. It would let us keep $3.6 billion of Georgia’s federal tax dollars rather than sending these funds to other states. Washington would pay 90% of the cost of closing the coverage gap plus provide a $550 million bonus for each of two years. State savings in child welfare and law enforcement would also result. 

Finally, closing the coverage gap is popular. Seventy-six percent of Georgians, including 63% of independents and most Republicans, support it. 

Earlier this year, the Georgia General Assembly voted to create a commission for further study of this issue. The Commission is due to issue an interim report by the end of the year. The small businesses I work with and support should not have to wait even longer for actions to address this urgent need. They need affordable health insurance and so do their employees. The future of our state’s thriving economy requires it. 

Thelma Johnson is President and CEO of Albany Community Together.