For 14 years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has empowered millions of Americans to receive low-cost, quality health care coverage. A record-breaking number of Americans have enrolled in the program under President Biden and Vice President Harris – a testament to their strong leadership as they continue to fulfill their promise to make health care more affordable. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans continue threatening to dismantle the ACA, putting health care coverage at risk for millions of Americans – including Latinos, who are disproportionately at risk of having their health care ripped away. 

DNC Director of Hispanic Media Marco Frieri released the following statement: 

“The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for Latinos, who have historically faced disparities in access to care. That’s why President Biden and Vice President Harris have made strengthening and protecting health care a key part of their transformative agenda – from lowering the cost of prescription drugs to expanding access to affordable care through the ACA. We are seeing these investments paying off through record-breaking enrollment, including an increase in the number of Latino families who have coverage through this landmark law. However, all of this is on the line, as Donald Trump doubles down on his threat to repeal the Affordable Care Act if he gets the chance. This means that Latinos would have the Affordable Care Act ripped away from us, and the uninsured rate could skyrocket in our community. Let’s not forget Trump’s administration also endorsed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in every single one of his proposed budgets, disproportionately threatening the lives of Latinos. As we mark the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, it’s clearer than ever that our health care is on the ballot this November.”

President Biden is expanding and protecting the revolutionary Affordable Care Act, which led the number of uninsured Latinos to fall by more than 15 million.  

CBS News: “Data shows that prior to the 2013 implementation of the Medicaid expansion — a provision of the ACA that made more families eligible for Medicaid coverage — 40.2% of the Hispanic population, 24.4% of the Black population, and 14.5% of the White population were uninsured in America. However, by 2021, those numbers dropped significantly to 24.5%, 13.5%, and 8.2%, respectively.”

NBC News: “Hispanics have the highest rate of people without health insurance coverage and saw the largest drop in people without insurance under Obamacare.”

KFF: “Since implementation of the major ACA health coverage expansions in 2014, people of color have experienced large coverage gains that

helped narrow the longstanding racial and ethnic disparities in coverage. These gains reflected increases in both Medicaid and private coverage. Hispanics experienced the largest coverage gain.”

CNN: “Obamacare sign-ups hit record 21.3 million as Biden pushes his efforts to lower health care costs”

“Nearly 5 million more people signed up for Obamacare policies for this year compared with last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, said Wednesday. Notably, about a quarter of people selecting plans were new consumers.”

The Hill: “Biden touts Affordable Care Act enrollment spike” 

“The White House is reporting strong enrollment numbers through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) one week after enrollment began, with 300,000 new customers signing up for plans already.”

Washington Post: “ACA linked to reduced racial disparities, earlier diagnosis and treatment in cancer care”

President Biden capped seniors’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month. This is a tremendous win for Latinos, who are more prone than white adults to suffer from type 2 diabetes.

La Opinión: Translation: “Latinos are among the ethnic groups that will benefit most from the $35 cap on the cost of insulin announced by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, at the request of the Joe Biden administration.

“With 11.98%, Latinos rank third among the groups that suffer the most from diabetes, from a list led by American Indians or Alaska Natives with 14.5%, followed by the non-Hispanic black population with 12.1%.”

CNN: “More Americans can now get insulin for $35” 

“Congress, the White House and new players in the market have increased pressure on insulin manufacturers to lower their prices. Eli Lilly and Sanofi announced that they would institute $35 caps shortly after President Joe Biden called on drugmakers to do so in his State of the Union address last year.” 

MAGA Republican governors refuse to expand Medicaid — keeping anywhere between tens of thousands to over a million of their constituents from accessing affordable health care. 

New York Times: “Texas has one of the highest rates in the nation for people undergoing diabetes-related amputations, at about 52 per 100,000 hospital admissions. The problem in San Antonio is even worse than in the rest of Texas, especially for men, who are roughly three times more likely to lose a foot or leg to diabetes than women — possibly because of cultural stigmas that prevent many Latino men from looking closely after their health.”

“Republicans in Texas have consistently opposed expanding Medicaid for low-income residents under the Affordable Health Care Act of 2013”

PBS: “According to the Georgetown analysis, the rate of Latino children without health insurance in states that had not expanded Medicaid by 2019 was more than 2.5 times higher than that in states that had expanded—14.9% compared with 5.8%.”

KFF: In Florida, 570,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid if expanded.

KFF: And 29% of the uninsured Floridians who would be covered if Florida expanded Medicaid are Hispanic. 

KFF: In Georgia, 359,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid if expanded.

KFF: In South Carolina, 141,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid if expanded.

KFF: In Texas, 1,214,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid if expanded.

Thanks to the ACA, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, and 6.1 million Latinos gained access to preventative services without added out-of-pocket costs.

Dept. of Health and Human Services: “The law requires insurers to cover HIV screening without cost-sharing for individuals at high risk of infection. This is important for Hispanics/Latinos, who represent 20 percent of the total estimated number of HIV diagnoses among adults and adolescents. An estimated 6.1 million Latino Americans with private insurance currently have access to expanded preventive services with no cost-sharing because of the Affordable Care Act.”

Kaiser Health News: “Following the ACA’s enactment in 2010 through 2016, coverage increased across all racial/ethnic groups, with the largest increases occurring after implementation of the Medicaid and Marketplace coverage expansions in 2014. Nonelderly Hispanic people had the largest percentage point increase in coverage, with their uninsured rate falling from 32.6% to 19.1%.”

Dept. of Health and Human Services: “Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies can’t refuse to cover you or charge you more just because you have a ‘pre-existing condition’ — that is, a health problem you had before the date that new health coverage starts. They also can’t charge women more than men.”

Donald Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even though it would be devastating for millions of Latino families.

New York Times: “Trump Administration Files Formal Request to Strike Down All of Obamacare” 

CNN: “Obamacare has gotten popular. Trump doesn’t care”

New York Magazine: “Why a Second Trump Presidency Might Try Again to Repeal Obamacare”