Register for health insurance

Latinos need to register for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the law needs more Latinos to register for this expanded health care coverage.

This is not word play, but an undeniable reality. The Hispanic community is the demographic group with the highest proportion of uninsured people. At the same time, this huge group of people who are younger on the average than ordinary Americans, are needed to provide the balanced customer base that allows a health care plan to function.

Thanks to this combination of interests, there are collective efforts underway to inform people, like the forum held yesterday in the White House by ImpreMedia, Telemundo and Univision along with President Obama.

The information campaign is vital, in order to eliminate perceptions and refute the political claims of those who are more interested in gaining political brownie points for the election than in providing health care coverage to as many people as possible.

It is necessary to repeat over and over, for example, that registering children won’t endanger their undocumented parents or anyone in the home who is undocumented. Everyone must take advantage of this opportunity to get medical insurance, especially given that there are tax credits and subsidies available to be able to pay for it.

The ACA is providing access to preventive medicine, treatment and prescription drugs. For some—residents and citizens—it will end the nightmare of using the emergency room as the only place to turn to in case of illness.

Let’s disregard those who, for political reasons, want Obamacare to fail and are trying to scare Latinos about its effects. Despite their arguments, the Latino community knows that, at the end of the day, it is better to have medical insurance than not to have it when we get sick or have an accident. That is where political maneuvering ends and reality begins.

There is still one month left to register for insurance. Go for it! Latino homes are very familiar with the drama of an illness—or an accident, which can happen to anyone, regardless of age—and the exorbitant material costs or human price of delayed care. If you or your family qualify for the ACA, register now!