Celebrating 14 Years of Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act, familiarly known as Obamacare, celebrated its 14th anniversary last weekend. This landmark program has successfully expanded health insurance to more than 40 million Americans, increased health care affordability, strengthened the value of health insurance, and established core consumer protections. As a result of its provisions, the uninsured rate nationally reached a record low of seven percent in 2023. Despite its positive impact and widespread popularity, the GOP has tried 50 times to repeal the act, coming within one vote in 2017. Its repeal continues to be pushed by the GOP presidential nominee who wants it gone but offers nothing to replace it. Meanwhile, President Biden, who famously had a hot mic moment at the law's signing, is building on the ACA by reducing premiums, expanding coverage, and lowering drug costs. He promises to continue these efforts in his next term.
Florida leads the country in enrollees, with over 3.2 million residents taking advantage of affordable coverage through the federal marketplace. An additional million residents could be insured if the state took advantage of ACA's provisions encouraging states to expand Medicaid. Florida remains one of only 10 states to turn down this option, giving up over $5 billion in federal funding. Lawmakers shunned Medicaid expansion again in the 2024 session, instead passing a state-funded package of bills aimed at increasing the number of healthcare providers. Healthcare advocates, meanwhile, have launched a petition drive for a ballot measure in 2026 seeking a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid in the state.
Two actions you can take to mark the 14th anniversary of Obamacare and help protect health care access:
Tell Congress to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act by signing this letter created by MomsRising. Everyone deserves the right to health care, and freedom from threats to economic security brought on by illness. Remind the voters you know who is responsible for expanding health care access for Americans and who wants to take it away.
Sign the petition to put Medicaid expansion in Florida on the ballot in 2026. Florida Decides Healthcare just launched its campaign to collect one million signatures for this initiative. BAM is supporting the petition drive over the next two years so watch for ways you can get involved!
SWIFT Focuses on Young Black Voters
One critical ingredient in the Democratic victories we hope to see in November will be ensuring a high turnout of young voters - and voters of color - two groups much less motivated by party loyalty than earlier generations of voters. The next Statewide Indivisible Florida Task Force (SWIFT) collaboration call on Tuesday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. will feature a presentation on "Cracking the Code: Mobilizing Black Youth Voters for the 2024 Presidential Election." Dr. Amanda Wilkerson, Professor at the University of Central Florida, will discuss her research analyzing the political socialization of students attending Florida's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Join a dynamic discussion about who Black Youth Voters are, their political positions, and how they are organized and engaged in civic initiatives. Learn about strategies we can use to motivate young Black voters ahead of the 2024 election. RSVP here for a link to the webinar. SWIFT is a statewide forum of Indivisible affiliates, including BAM, Indivisible Mandarin, and Indivisible Jax Riverside.
BAM at Paws in the Park!
Paws in the Park was a bow-wowser of a day! BAM members and friends did lots of voter outreach, collected candidate petitions for House District 16 candidate Rachel Grage, and challenged folks to match the Presidents and their pets! Congratulations to the contest winners: Barbara Esparza, Rosalind Hoffman, Candice Kelly, and Mary Cain! If you tried and were stumped, find the answers here!
Save the Date!
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