Average Affordable Care Act premiums in Wisconsin would have been 56% higher this year without temporary subsidies from the federal government, and small-business advocates say a new extension is a big help when smaller firms are trying to get back on their financial feet.

The Inflation Reduction Act included a provision to extend the ACA's premium subsidies through 2025. The extra tax credits are from an earlier pandemic relief package and were set to run though this year.

David Chase, vice president for outreach at the Small Business Majority, said the extension removes a lot of headaches during a complicated time for owners of smaller operations.

"Only about half of small businesses are able to offer coverage," he said, "and we've seen that number drop even more since the pandemic, which makes the Inflation Reduction Act even more important."

Since its inception, Chase said, the Affordable Care Act has been a game-changer for small businesses but acknowledges owners still face challenges. He said health-care costs continue to rise, with one recent analysis noting marketplace insurers already were proposing premium hikes for 2023. Policy experts have said the subsidy extension will help buffer those higher expenses.

Shawn Phetteplace, the Wisconsin-based Midwest regional manager of the Main Street Alliance, said the extension is especially helpful here, because Wisconsin is still among the 12 states that have yet to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. He said that adds barriers for small business owners trying to build a staff these days.

"A lot of folks go and do jobs - that they're working for large corporations purely to get health insurance," he said. "You have folks who don't start a business because they need health insurance. You have folks that only are part-time with their business because they need health insurance."

The Inflation Reduction Act also will allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices. Analysts have said that also could help small business owners in the future, because skyrocketing prices have made it harder to select a plan to offer to their staff.

West Virginia lawmakers will convene for a Special Session on Sept. 30, with the state's child care crisis, proposed income tax cuts and supplemental appropriations on the agenda.

The Mountain State's spending on child care is much lower than neighboring states and has steadily declined over the past decade, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. It is estimated the parents of around 26,000 children currently lack affordable child care options.

Gov. Jim Justice is reiterating his push for child care tax credits.

"Absolutely try to get our tax break across the finish line with child care," Justice urged. "There's supplemental appropriations that need to be done, and we need to get the money out the door."

Previous bills proposing a child care tax credit for households with incomes less than $65,000 a year have stalled in the Legislature. The Biden administration has said the state needs to contribute between $20 million and $30 million to keep a federal subsidy program afloat for the next year, to direct money to child care centers, making costs more affordable for families.

The governor is also proposing another 5% income tax cut.

"We need another tax break," Justice contended. "I'm very, very hopeful and optimistic that we're going to be able to get it through."

According to state data, tax revenue collections for August were lower than expected at around $403 million and down from last August, when $410 million in tax revenue was collected.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By John Hilber / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

In the last 21 years, in-state undergraduate tuition and fees for some public universities in Ohio have doubled or more than doubled, according to Ohio Department of Higher Education data from 2003 and 2024

As tuition has climbed, the department’s records show the number of students enrolled in Ohio public universities has decreased by nearly 47,000 from 2020 to 2023.

“We’ve already seen low enrollment,” said Piet van Lier, a senior researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. “We’ve seen enrollment drop over the past four years. It has to be, in part, because it costs more to go to school than it used to.”

Through the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s data, schools like Kent State University and Ohio State University have seen sharp increases in tuition prices since 2003. Kent State has gone from an average yearly tuition price of around $6,374 in 2003 to $12,845 this year, while Ohio State has gone from $5,691 per year in 2003 to $12,859 this year.

In Ohio, the tuition rates of public universities are decided and set by university-level boards, such as the Board of Trustees, and the boards take into account factors including state funding (per-student appropriations), rising institutional costs (salaries, maintenance, utilities), and incoming student enrollment rates.

“Per-student allocation from the state that pays for higher education has dropped,” van Lier said. “What this means is that students have to pay more of that in the form of tuition. Schools are getting less aid and less support in terms of public dollars from the state, and that means their option is they have to increase tuition.”

College tuition, alongside state funding, helps universities cover their expenses.

“A significant portion of tuition revenue is allocated to paying faculty and staff salaries, instructional materials, and other costs directly related to teaching and learning,” Aaron Horn, associate vice president of policy research at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, said in an email. “Tuition revenue, along with other revenue sources, can help support a range of institutional needs, including administration, student support services (such as advising, counseling, career services, and mental health services), financial aid, campus maintenance and technology.”

Horn says the cost of these services has increased over time significantly, making tuition rates go up as well to help cover the cost. And when enrollment falls, university revenue does too.

“This total revenue influences how much an institution can invest in academic quality; student support services such as advising, tutoring, mental health services, and career counseling; infrastructure; and financial aid,” Horn said. “Institutions with higher and more stable revenue are generally better positioned to support positive student outcomes such as timely degree completion, whereas those facing revenue shortfalls may struggle to maintain the same level of support and quality.”

The increasing rates of higher education is impacting students to do more in order to afford schooling, including taking out loans and working more jobs.

“Around 70% of the students that we do work with do have college affordability issues, meaning that they do take out large amounts of loans in order to access school,” said Mary-Pat Hector, the CEO of Rise, a national nonprofit organization focused on politically empowering students. “And many of them do work two to three jobs in order to attend school.”

According to Urban Institute, 30-40% of undergraduate students take federal student loans in any given year, and the student loan debt in the United States is around $1.753 trillion. In 2019, about 36% of students took out student loans.

To work on lowering the student loan debt, in 2022 42.4% of full time undergraduate students have a job while enrolled in school. Five years ago, the percentage of undergraduate students with jobs while enrolled in school was similar at a 44.5% rate.

For van Lier, there is growing support to offset the tuition imbalance in the state, and one way to do that is to maximize the potential of state programs.

“One of the things we often highlight is the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), which is the state’s main way of providing need-based financial aid,” he said. “Ohio really should be changing how OCOG is structured, so people who choose the most affordable options for their post-secondary education are going to be able to access the OCOG money.”

The fight for truly affordable higher education rates is still ongoing for Hector, but she believes the fight is worth it.

“I think more individuals will be able to access, of course, school,” she said. “More of us will be able to compete globally with other countries that really value education and investing in the next generation of their citizens. And I think more Americans will be able to live out the American dream.”


This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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A new report showed adhering to prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements can greatly enhance the tax incentives for clean energy projects in Pennsylvania using Inflation Reduction Act funding.

The Ohio River Valley Institute report focused on the economic impact of enhanced or full rate credits for clean energy production in Appalachia, including Pennsylvania.

Ted Boettner, senior researcher for the institute, said enhanced credits can double the amount of credit companies receive, especially for existing projects with high labor standards.

"What we found was that there are about 57 clean energy projects in the region that represent about a little over $5 billion in capital investments," Boettner reported. "Most of these are solar projects, a couple wind projects, small hydropower projects and a couple battery projects."

The report found the U.S. Department of Labor has identified 76 clean energy projects in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including 57 projects in preconstruction which could potentially qualify for enhanced tax incentives and create up to 10,000 jobs.

Boettner noted the report strongly suggested using unionized labor, better wages and hiring apprentices is economically impactful for projects. The approach not only boosts local economic impact but also fosters a skilled workforce, ensuring a sustainable future for the region.

"There are a lot of benefits, especially from the apprenticeship utilization requirement," Boettner explained. "They're requiring the projects to have about 15% of the workers that are on the job site to be in an apprenticeship program. And this ensures that we're paying good wages for workers that are there, but we're also encouraging investment in our apprenticeship programs."

Changes to the administration in November could lead to a rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act, including enhanced credits. Boettner pointed out the rollback could hinder investment in clean energy and promote low-wage labor practices, contradicting the law's goals. The uncertain future of the law and its credits is of concern, particularly under a potential Trump administration.