MADISON, Wis — Yesterday, a new report detailed the impact Republican attacks on the Affordable Care Act will have on Wisconsinites. Milwaukee chef Dan Jacobs spoke with Spectrum News, explaining that the ACA has helped him afford health care while living with a preexisting condition. Jacobs is one of nearly 300,000 Wisconsin residents who rely on the ACA for coverage, and premiums are expected to skyrocket as a result of Republican inaction.
Spectrum News: Milwaukee chef testifies on Capitol Hill, calls on lawmakers to strengthen the Affordable Care Act
By: Charlotte Scott | 12/10/25
Milwaukee chef Dan Jacobs lives with Kennedy’s Disease, a rare disorder that weakens the muscles.
“I am losing my ability to walk, talk, use my hands, basically any sort of motor skills,” he said. “It’s less aggressive than ALS, but pretty much the same.”
He and his wife purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. He said it keeps his medication costs low and has allowed him to open two restaurants.
“The ACA offered the affordability and the stability to be able to open up my own business and not have to worry about a large investment in health care,” Jacobs said.
“Without the Affordable Care Act,” Jacobs added, “I could be denied health insurance, or they could cover everything except my condition. So, the Affordable Care Act makes sure that insurance companies don’t do that.”
Jacobs flew from Wisconsin to Washington to testify at a hearing on health care, in a subcommittee chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Jacobs urged the panel to “protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act,” also known as Obamacare.
“The key principle that must guide successful health care reform is re-injecting consumerism and free market competition into health care,” Johnson said. “Obamacare took us in the opposite direction and failed to reduce health care costs.”
Insurance premiums are expected to skyrocket next year due, in part, to ACA tax credits that expire at the end of the year. On Thursday, the Senate will vote on competing proposals to lower health care costs. Neither proposal is expected to pass, since Democrats and Republicans are unlikely to support each other’s legislation. Democrats want a three-year extension of the enhanced subsidies; the GOP bill expands health savings accounts but doesn’t even touch the issue of subsidies.
The committee’s ranking member, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said an extension is needed now to prevent skyrocketing costs for consumers and until Congress can work out a different plan.
“There’s no question that we need to crack down on the brokers engaging in fraudulent behavior and take action to constrain health care costs,” Blumenthal said. “But let’s resolve to come together to do the right thing for the American people and extend these health care subsidies.”
Jacobs and his wife will see their insurance cost increase by $550 a month in 2026. That’s almost $7,000 a year – and Jacobs said he doesn’t benefit from subsidies.
“That’s the part, I think, that’s scary for people that do have subsidies,” Jacobs said. “You’re looking at an exponential rise from that.”
He said he’s worried about his employees who also purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act. If their costs jump to an unaffordable price, he said some might be forced to look elsewhere for employment.
“People are going to have to make choices,” Jacobs said. “And unfortunately, I think you’re seeing more and more restaurants close.”
