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South L.A. Residents Come Out For Music, Food And Obamacare

Tasbeeh Herwees |
September 28, 2013 | 6:15 p.m. PDT

Senior Staff Writer

For many people not enrolled in healthcare plans, the problem is a lack of information. (Xizi Cecilia Hua/ Neon Tommy)
For many people not enrolled in healthcare plans, the problem is a lack of information. (Xizi Cecilia Hua/ Neon Tommy)
On a hot Saturday in South Los Angeles, Leslie Miller strolls through Martin Luther King Jr. Park with her daughter in tow and browses the booths at Community Coalition’s 2nd Annual Powerfest Music Festival. One of the hundreds of South L.A. residents who have gathered here today, Miller is getting enrolled under the new Affordable Care Act. 

“I’m enrolling in everything that’s affordable for me to get into,” she said. 

Miller lost her job a few years ago. Without the coverage provided by her employer’s healthcare plan, she often couldn’t afford doctor’s visits for herself or for her children. 

“There was a lot of fear. I had to do home remedies when they got sick,” she said. “I’m really not the home remedy type but I wanted to get it taken care of. You do what you have to do.”

The Community Coalition decided to dedicate its second annual Powerfest Music Festival to people like Miller. The barrage of media coverage on Obamacare has often been contentious and confusing, resulting in many now having difficulty understanding what exactly Obamacare will mean for them. Local health groups gathered on the lawns of the park under white tents to facilitate enrollment and help people understand new healthcare plans. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti showed up to lend support to the Community Coalition’s efforts. 

“What’s important is that today, 5 million Californians don’t have health insurance and that only changes one application at a time,” Mayor Garcetti told Neon Tommy. “So passing Obamacare was great, but enrolling people was the real goal.”

Mayor Garcetti said they’ve also instituted a program in which librarians in every city library were trained to help people enroll. 

“We’ve trained our librarians to get you enrolled just like that. It’s easier than applying for a cell phone and it probably costs you less to have health insurance,” he said. 

As guest musicians Goapele and Buyepongo provided entertainment on the stage, the UMMA Community Clinic, a local free health clinic, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center had tables set up where people could ask questions about the enrollment process. Enrollment organizer Pablo Barrios said that the problem for many people is a lack of information. 

“We're in South L.A., so there’s a lack of Internet. They may not have TV. They may not have a car to go to a community forum,” said Barrios. “St. John’s has an organizing infrastructure called The Right To Health and we’re organizing community members – specifically our patients – to inform other folks about the changes, the most important details on Obamacare.”

Barrios said some of their most frequent applicants are middle class senior citizens. 

“We’re getting tons of senior citizens – so 64, 65, 66 – they’re on the cusp of being cut out of Medical and Medicare,” he said. “This is where the Affordable Care Act comes into play – for middle class folks.”

Tina Esquival, an enrollment activist with the UMMA Community Clinic, said that misinformation regarding healthcare options often prevents people with treatable illnesses from seeking the help they need. 

“Sometimes they're afraid to go to the doctor because they think there’s no help out there but that’s exactly what we’re here for – to let them know that there is help, there is something that will cover them,” said Esquivel. 

South L.A. resident Gregory Scott falls into that category. He’s been living with a fingernail fungus for years without treatment. He says he hopes the Obamacare plan will finally help him treat his illness. 

“I haven’t had healthcare before. I need something done for my fingernail – some cream or something for it. Obamacare, for me, is finally getting some insurance so I can get the help I need,” he said. 

Mayor Garcetti said opponents of Obamacare should realize that the program is meant to help everyone. 

“We’re going to see fewer emergency room visits, we’re going to see people living longer lives, we’re going to see people who are able to take care of things before it becomes a chronic condition,” said Garcetti. 

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Tasbeeh Herwees here.



 

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