Issued November 14, 2014
br />WASHINGTON--More thana href="http://www.seiu.org/2014/06/changed-lives-delivering-on-the-promise-of-the-aff.php">100 million peoplere already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and as the second period for open enrollment in the healthcare marketplaces kicks offaturday, November 15th. For America's working families, the healthcare law is going strong and has become part of the American fabric.
"For 10.3 million Americans, access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act means no longer having to live on the brink just to stay healthy. SEIU members reached out to 2.5 million Americans last year and will be working with community groups and healthcare advocates to help more families get covered starting November 15," said Mary Kay Henry, International President of theervice Employees International Union (SEIU). As the nation's largest union of healthcare workers on the front lines of care, we stand firm in our commitment to affordable, quality healthcare for all and to seeing this law strengthened as more and more working families benefit from its coverage and protections."
Over the next three months, SEIU members will reach out to working women and men in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas to make sure they know the facts about new healthcare options.
Efforts by Republicans to dismantle the law have failed. Midterm election exit polling showed that the nation isired of congressional obstruction. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and is improving the lives of more than 100 million people.
More than5 percent of Americans who gained coverage through the marketplacesuring the first enrollment period were eligible for financial assistance, significantly lowering their healthcare costs. Some 7.1 million people signed up for coverage through the same state and federal exchanges that will openhis Saturday. Another 8.7 million have gained healthcare coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and 3 million young adults are now covered thanks to new guidelines that allow them to stay on their parents' plans until age 26.
"Without access to affordable healthcare, people can't put the health of their families first and they can't get ahead," Henry said. "This law levels the economic playing field and delivers greater financial security for millions of working women and men across our economy - from homecare workers to hair dressers to university professors."
The three-month open enrollment period beginsov. 15nd runs through Feb. 15, 2015.