LETTERS: Obamacare a lifesaver for the self-employed

While top Republican senators are making last-ditch efforts to revive their replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act, calls for a so-called clean repeal of the ACA are just as concerning. The Congressional Budget Office recently announced that repealing the ACA without a suitable replacement will leave 32 million uninsured — many of them entrepreneurs like myself. Like many freelancers, I was unable to find consistent and reliable health coverage before the ACA’s passage.

Since enrolling in the Get Covered Illinois marketplace, I’ve endured several serious health issues which now qualify as pre-existing conditions. Without the ACA, I would have had huge financial strain, been forced to abandon my business to find employer-sponsored coverage and, in a worst-case scenario, declared bankruptcy. Repealing the ACA will only cause premium rates to skyrocket, further destabilize the marketplaces and leave millions of small business owners and employees without coverage. I hope the Senate will drop their efforts to dismantle the ACA and instead work on bipartisan improvements to the law that will benefit small businesses.

Karin McKie, Avondale

Preckwinkle serves Democratic machine, not taxpayers

In response to Toni Preckwinkle’s criticisms of Gov. Bruce Rauner being “profoundly inept” and “evil,” I ask her to look at another story in the Sun-Times. A couple of facts jump out: Rauner’s been in office two years, Illinois has $250 billion in pension debt, Illinois’ bond rating is one notch above junk and Illinois owes $14 billion in past due bills, paying ridiculously exorbitant late penalties.

Preckwinkle and her political cronies have been at the Illinois helm for the past 40 years. They confuse balancing the budget with continued out of control spending coupled with outrageous borrowing practices, and she calls Rauner “evil” because he attempted to rein in these unprofessional budgeting practices.

Preckwinkle, being a leader in the Cook County Democratic Party, should try to reduce spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money. She may want to try working for the citizens who pay her hefty salary instead of the Democratic machine.

Larry Casey, Forest Glen