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Legal Immigrants Report ACA Enrollment Problems

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Legal Immigrants Report ACA Enrollment Problems
Record Number of Americans Delaying Medical Treatment Due to Cost Concerns

(Washington, D.C.) – Enrollment has begun under the second year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, and legal immigrants are again encountering trouble in applying for the program. As in the first year, immigrants who are legally permitted to participate must upload documentation to prove their eligibility. In the first year, many found it impossible to do so due to persistent problems with the website, and were inevitably included in the more than 100,000 that were ultimately dropped from ACA enrollment due to data inaccuracies regarding their immigration status. This year many applicants are reportedly finding that the website still does not allow the required documents to be uploaded. 

At the same time, Gallup finds that an increasing number of Americans are putting off medical care due to cost. One in three Americans reports having delayed care in the last year due to costs – a record high since Gallup began asking the question in 2001. A growing number reports delaying care for serious conditions. That number too, is at an all time high (22 percent).

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

“The health care law was supposed to make care affordable for all Americans. It was supposed to be easy to purchase through a simple website. It was supposed to save money, and expand choice. For most Americans, none of these things are happening. More than a year after the website launched, it still does not work – at least for hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who qualify for benefits. 

This is just more evidence that Obamacare, in fact, is making affordable healthcare and access to quality care more difficult to achieve for hard-working Americans living paycheck to paycheck than before the law’s passage. Supporters of this law have promised to fix it. If they refuse to back up their words with action, it’s time for Congress to act.”

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

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