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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2016
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515

STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON THE
SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

WASHINGTON – Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), issued the following statement today to mark the sixth anniversary of the date the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Obama:

“Six years after its enactment, the single most important achievement of the Affordable Care Act has been its reduction of the number of uninsured in America. At the time President Obama signed it into law, about 1 in 6 Americans lacked access to health coverage–despite the fact that America spends far more on health care than any other country in the world. Thanks to the expansion of Medicaid programs in states around the country and subsidized coverage through Marketplaces, the proportion of uninsured is now more like 1 in 10 – and dropping. That’s an overdue step in the right direction.

“However, improving our health care system is a continuous process, not a one-and-done proposition. Working with its 56 member Safety Net Health Plans – including seventeen offering coverage as Qualified Health Plans through Marketplaces – ACAP has developed a number of specific proposals that can further improve health coverage and consumer choice.

“The proposals include a guarantee of 12 months’ continuous enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, refinements to Marketplace web sites to better inform consumers, and stronger enforcement of ‘meaningful difference’ provisions to streamline consumer choice as they shop on the Marketplaces for coverage.

“The Affordable Care Act is a law that signals our unwillingness to tolerate pervasive uninsurance and underinsurance among our fellow citizens, despite the exorbitant sums we spend on health care in the U.S. from a per capita perspective. It’s a real achievement that it’s managed to bring health coverage – and the financial security and improved health that comes with it – into reach for millions of families who couldn’t afford it before.” 

About ACAP
ACAP represents 56 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 26 states, which collectively serve more than fifteen million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplaces, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other public health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

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