Obama To Target Latinos in ACA Enrollment Push

On Thursday, President Obama will appeal directly to Latino U.S. residents to enroll in the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges during a town hall co-hosted by the "Get Covered" campaign and Spanish-language media outlets, Politico reports (Cheney, Politico, 3/3).

Three of the largest Spanish-language media outlets in the country -- La Opinion-impreMedia, Telemundo and Univision -- will broadcast the town hall meeting (Easley, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 3/3).

According to federal officials, during the first part of the meeting Obama will answer questions attendees have submitted in advance. During the second part, a panel of experts will answer more detailed questions about the ACA.

Finally, the panel will discuss the law's effect on the Latino community, which has the highest number of uninsured individuals in the U.S. (Politico, 3/3). According to "Healthwatch," about 10.2 million uninsured Latinos are eligible for coverage under the ACA, and of those, about 8.1 million are likely eligible for tax subsidies ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 3/3).

Final Push

The event is part of the administration's final push to bolster enrollment in the exchanges with just weeks left in the initial open enrollment period (Politico, 3/3). According to the Los Angeles Times' "Politics Now," Obama, Vice President Biden and first lady Michelle Obama are all "scheduling public events and interviews across the country," joining several other senior federal officials participating in events aimed at increasing awareness of the upcoming open enrollment deadline among specific demographics (Parsons, "Politics Now," Los Angeles Times, 3/3).