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Border & Immigration

Affordable Care Act Outreach

Affordable Healthcare Act Outreach
KJZZ
Affordable Healthcare Act Outreach

The Obamacare web-based health insurance marketplace goes online at the start of October. That's when consumers will finally get to see just how much it's going to cost them to enroll in the various health insurance plans.

Premium costs will vary from state to state.

In Texas there continues to be strong opposition from the state's biggest political figures to the Affordable Health Care Act. Republican Governor Rick Perry says Obamacare is socialism, will bankrupt America and provides inferior health coverage.

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But across Texas meetings are being held by supporters of the ACA like Texas Organizing Project.

They are working with community leaders to get out the word about what Obamacare can do for those without health insurance.

A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that many Texans who stand to benefit from the new health insurance options aren't aware of them. The poll found that 43% of uninsured Americans haven't heard anything at all about the new health insurance marketplaces.

"We've got a 6-month window to sign people up and when you are talking about a county as large as ours, with 100 thousand citizens eligible for insurance, you cannot let a day go by when you are not trying to educate and inform the public about this program," said State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, Democrat of San Antonio.

Over the next few weeks staff and volunteers from the Get Covered America campaign will be block walking in communities across the major cities in Texas.

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They want to inform the uninsured how the new health insurance plans work and how to get the financial assistance that will help pay the coverage.

"We'll have thousands of conversations with consumers across Texas about what the new health marketplace means for them and their families, and what they need to know to choose a quality health insurance plan that fits Texans needs and budget" said Mimi Garcia, Texas State Director of Enroll America.