Triage Cancer CEO Joanna Morales Discusses Affordable Care Act and Its Effect on the Latino Community [Exclusive Video]

It is the law blamed for the 16-day-long government shutdown. It’s also the law that promises to give millions of Americans the affordable health care insurance that they lack. It’s called the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Act, dubbed Obamacare, is the most contentious piece of legislature of the past few years.

The federal statute, which was signed into law by President Obama in March 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2012, has not only divided those in Washington but the entire nation. According to a recent study by Gallup, 50 percent of Americans would like to see Congress scale back or repeal the ACA, while 38 percent of Americans would prefer Congress expand or keep the ACA as is.

Republicans in Congress have vehemently opposed the Act, while its supporters contend that it will ultimately prove beneficial to the American people. In an exclusive interview with Latinos Post, Triage Cancer CEO Joanna Morales spoke of the benefits of the Act and its effect on the Latino community.

“The Affordable Care Act certainly increases access to care, improves the affordability of care in certain ways, but really creates new ways to get access to health insurance coverage through the expansion of Medicaid and through the state insurance marketplaces,” Morales explained.

At its core, the Act aims to provide more affordable insurance to a greater number of people, while also making sure that people are not denied coverage or charged more for coverage due to pre-existing conditions. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Act “will provide 10.2 million uninsured Latino Americans an opportunity to get affordable health insurance coverage.”

“I think it would be a huge disservice to the Latino community to lose access to the many consumer protections that are in the Affordable Care Act, in addition to access to care,” Morales said. “So its really unfortunate that people can’t get access to healthcare because they don’t have health insurance coverage. And that’s really one of the main things that the Affordable Care Act tries to address.”

Despite its seeming benefits, its opponents argue that the ACA will prove too expensive for states, especially when it comes to expanding Medicare. According to ThinkProgress, 25 states and the District of Columbia are moving forward with Medicare expansions, while 22 states are refusing to expand and three states remain undecided.

Earlier this month, members of Congress forced a government shutdown due to disagreements over the fiscal cliff, debt ceiling and the Affordable Care Act. The shutdown closed down government services around the country, but did not prevent the roll-out of the ACA’s state insurance marketplaces.

“Well, the administration has said that its not going to affect the state insurance marketplaces, but I think that its unfortunate for the country that access to healthcare is being held hostage to politics,” Morales said.

Although a temporary budget deal to allow the Treasury to keep borrowing until February 7 has been reached, the debate over the government’s debt and the ACA’s role in that debt will continue. Per the ACA, Americans will have to be enrolled in a health insurance plan by January 1 or face a penalty fee.

Morales, however, welcomes the benefits that will result from the Act. “The cancer community has a huge opportunity ahead of them,” Morales said. Morales’ nonprofit organization helps those in the cancer community navigate through issues such as health, nutrition, insurance and finance. “For the first time really in history, anyone with a serious medical condition, like cancer, won’t be denied health insurance coverage, and they won’t be charged more because of their health condition,” she continued.

“Really that’s the biggest change to our healthcare system that we’ve seen in maybe 50 years,” she added. The future for the Affordable Care Act remains to be seen. While public support for the new healthcare law is mostly negative, it has seen a decline in negative opinion over the last few years and may continue to do so.