Congressman Fattah Lauds 2015 Healthcare Enrollment Numbers

Press Release

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a senior Democratic appropriator, lauded the recently announced open enrollment numbers as another huge milestone for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Over the weekend, the White House announced that more than 11 million individuals had signed-up for plans during the 2015 open enrollment period which ended on February 15.

The preliminary enrollment figures showed that in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan areas, 248,265 consumers selected a plan or were automatically reenrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace;in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the overall number totaled 471,930 individuals.

"In its second year, open enrollment numbers continued to surpass our expectations. Across the country, we now have an additional 11.4 million people either signed-up for the first time or re-enrolled in affordable, quality healthcare plans," Congressman Fattah said. "Here at home, Philadelphia continues to meet enrollment projections--an indicator of the incredibly high demand for affordable health insurance coverage throughout our local community. I thank everyone across the city who worked tirelessly during the enrollment period to increase awareness of the open enrollment season and ultimately reduce the number of uninsured individuals and families in our community."

Fattah was a leading Congressional advocate for President Obama's healthcare and health insurance reform plan, helping to shape the legislative strategy that turned the bill into law. The Congressman also helped champion the reauthorization of the Office of Minority Health, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the creation the new Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a department that was established by the Affordable Care Act.

Congressman Fattah highlighted these efforts and the new enrollment numbers at an event in Philadelphia yesterday with Dr. Cara James, Director of the Office of Minority Health at CMS. Dr. James was the featured speaker at a lecture on the ACA's efforts to reduce health care disparities that persist throughout the United States, especially in minority populations. The event held at Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, was hosted by the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania (MSEP), in celebration of Black History Month.

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