Huffington Magazine Issue 10 | Page 89

HUFFINGTON 08.19.12 PROGNOSIS UNCLEAR who are currently uninsured, who can gain enormously from the Affordable Care Act, aren’t aware of it,” said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, a Washington-based advocacy organization that used its hefty advertising and lobbying budget, as well as its nationwide grassroots network, to help pass the health care law. “There’s got to be a huge and effective public education, outreach and advertising campaign,” said Pollack, who is on the board of Enroll America, a coalition of health care industry groups and nonprofit organizations that will spend tens of millions of dollars educating the public about the law’s new benefits. A massive and well-coordinated effort has to be ready to go by next October, when small businesses and individuals who don’t get insurance at work can begin shopping for plans — and will learn whether they’re eligible for financial assistance. People who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $14,856 this year, will qualify for Medicaid coverage. Those who earn up to 400 percent, which is $44,680 in 2012, can get tax credits to help pay for private insurance. Some small companies also will qualify for tax credits. WILL INSURANCE COMPANIES SELL PLANS THE HEALTHY WILL BUY? One of the main reasons for enacting health care reform was to end health insurance company practices that excluded people with pre-existing conditions or made them pay exorbitant premiums, overcharged women and “The vast majority of people who are currently uninsured, who can gain enormously from the Affordable Care Act, aren’t aware of it. We’ve got to reach them all.”