Monterey Bay: The Magazine of CSU Monterey Bay Fall/Winter 2013, Vol. VI, No. II | Page 8

Healthy
Choices
CSUMB comes together
to help community
understand and prepare
for Affordable Care Act

by James Tinney

P

assage of the Affordable Care Act was a signature
event of Barack Obama’s first presidential term. It
touched off a continuing, heated political debate
and was upheld as constitutional in a much-awaited ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
But, in talking to his classmates, Cal State Monterey
Bay senior Tyller Williamson found they knew little
about the law, also known as Obamacare.
“When you develop an understanding of a topic, you
think other people also will have some level of understanding. But it is surprising how much information is
just not getting out there,” said Williamson, a Human
Communication major finishing his undergraduate
degree this fall.
Although the participation of young adults is widely
acknowledged to be critical in making Obamacare work,
polls show little understanding of the law among that
age group – or most other age groups, for that matter.