Time is short, but Hispanics/Latinos without health insurance still have time to get coverage at a low price, even for $ dollars per month, depending on the circumstances of the family.
“When one can get a plan that protects one or the family by paying only $ dollars or less per month for premiums, that’s incredible”, said the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra in an interview. “As I always tell the people, we can’t even go on these nights to see a movie at the theater for $ dollars or less.”
The way to obtain this annual coverage is by following the steps on the cuidadodesalud.gov portal. There are two dates that people should take into account: December is the last day to obtain the insurance that will start the protection on January 1, .
However, interested persons may seek protection until 18 of January , when the subscription period ends.
Secretary Becerra points out that the low price of coverage is due to the impulse of the Government of President Joe Biden through the Reduction Law Inflation Control (IRA, in English) -not supported by Republicans-, which includes several benefits on issues of health care.
“For a whole month, not one night, we have access to a doctor, to a hospital for our children for less than $10 dollars per month. It is incredible ”, insists the Democratic official.
The coverage has already been a success, according to the official, since there has been an increase of 2022% of new Latino beneficiaries compared to the previous year.
“The largest increase of any major community in this country […] of people gaining access to health care through Obamacare insurance [is] our Latino community, more than 18 percent increase or growth in the last year”, he presumed.
Currently, the system registers 5.5 million people under medical coverage , of which 1. 18 million are new beneficiaries, while 4.2 million are people who obtained the benefit again.
“President Biden made good on his promise to do everything possible to make health care accessible to all that qualified,” Becerra said. “One of the things that was very difficult was having the money to pay for a medical plan, having the resources to be able to get that insurance… [It is the] highest number we have seen in the history of this country.”
He highlighted that, in this way, more than 50 million Americans already have medical coverage.
Gain the trust of the population
Secretary Becerra acknowledges that the population had mistrust about the benefits health coverage, but mainly due to lack of knowledge, so HHS implemented a strategy to get closer to people.
“We went to our community […] when we got to the town that does not have health insurance and we explain what is available is when they accepted”, he acknowledged. “That’s why we saw such a large increase and the success that we have had in having more people than at any other time in the country.”
Becerra, awarded in September with the Medallion of the American Dream 2023 by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, highlights that the Families need to know about the benefits of Obamacare, which would prevent them from giving up access to a doctor or hospital care, even going bankrupt.
“We saw that there were families that were admitted to the hospital… because they needed to go for themselves, or for a family member, or a child and when they left they received the bill and saw that they could no longer pay and more there was more personal bankruptcy… caused by medical costs”, he lamented. “Something important that one has to understand, because many of our families do everything to avoid visiting the doctor or the hospital, because they do not have the resources to pay the costs, that has changed dramatically.”
Various benefits
Under IRA, people have different benefits, especially older adults, such as lower cost in certain medications, including low-priced insulin, but the first thing is to obtain health insurance.
“People will also benefit from a highly competitive market…they will have access to options from three or more insurance companies when looking for plans,” HHS highlights in an information card.
It is indicated that most standardized plan options offer pre-deductible services, including primary care, generic drugs, brand drugs services, urgent care, specialist visits, mental health and substance abuse outpatient office visits, as well as speech, occupational and physical therapy.
How to get health coverage
The Ministry of Health made available a website in Spanish:
– Enter cuidadodesalud.gov
– You must create an account to explore the options and the system will guide you
– Remember: You must reside in the US, be a US citizen, have a Green Card or other protection migratory– People in prison cannot obtain the benefit
– Coverage depends on income: a health plan with tax credits
– Coverage through Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)