Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the nation has seen the largest reduction in the uninsured in four decades, with more than 16 million uninsured individuals gaining coverage.
For African-Americans, an estimated six out of 10 uninsured blacks qualified for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan or lower costs for monthly premiums through the health insurance marketplace.
And that was just part of the positive news delivered by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Mary Katherine Wakefield, who addressed the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual convention Friday in Houston.
“Before the Affordable Care Act, our health care system was broken,” Wakefield said. “I’ve been at this long enough to watch the number of uninsured tick up year after year after year and it seemed like nothing could be done to drive those number of uninsured down. Even for families with coverage there was worry that they’d lose their coverage even if they’d paid their monthly premium on time every month.”
Wakefield said the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is also tackling a major health issue in the black community: diabetes.
“In the next five minutes, two people will die from diabetes-related causes and that’s very significant,” she said. “Diabetes illustrates some of our country’s deepest disparities.
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Obama Admin Gives Positive Status Report for ACA at Annual NNPA Convention