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Obamacare: Five Years of Struggle for the Hispanic Community

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Obamacare: Five Years of Struggle for the Hispanic Community 

 

(Washington D.C.) – Back in 2010, President Obama and his allies pushed the Affordable Care Act through Congress in complete disregard of the errors and problems with the bill, against bipartisan opposition, and despite polls showing the public strongly opposed it. Since then, they have many times acknowledged that the law is flawed, and insisted it needs to be fixed. Nevertheless, the law’s supporters have been actively seeking Hispanic enrollment in order to offset the cost of older and sicker enrollees in the insurance. The Hispanic community has raised its voice in opposition to the unfair system for a variety of reasons and to this day a majority of Latinos oppose the law

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of the LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

“Today marks an unfortunate milestone: five years to the day that President Obama signed off on a bill that has overburdened the people it intended to help. While many now have insurance cards, mostly due to the coercive dictates of the law, the cruel irony is that they are nowhere closer to obtaining the quality care, and low costs options they were promised. Millions are forced to purchase plans they do not want. Many face narrow networks and are enduring high out-of-pocket costs. Ten percent of the people who have signed up for plans are Hispanics – many of whom realize they are not being offered a good plan, or worse, must now face the harsh reality of losing their plans. 

Five years down the road, the uncertainty continues: this law may be undone because of a mistake that was recognized years ago, but which the president chose never to bring to Congress for negotiation or repair. We are in this unfortunate situation because the supporters of the law insisted on going it alone. And what’s more, millions of Hispanics, many who were experiencing difficulty paying their monthly bills, are preparing to face penalties this tax season because of its mandates and flawed system. Today’s anniversary reminds us that after five years, nothing has been done to address the problems with this law even while these new costs will break the Budget s of so many struggling households.. This should be a reminder to the president that he needs to begin to work with Congress on reforming the reform, in the nation’s best Interest .”

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173.

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