NAACP Calls for Full Implementation of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act

WHEREAS, on March 23, 2010, H.R. 3590, the NAACP supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) which was signed into law by President Barack H. Obama; and

WHEREAS, on June 28, 2012 the Supreme Court of the United States deemed the ACA provision that states develop a state marketplace for residents to have health coverage was constitutional; and

WHEREAS, the ACA also includes the option for states to expand Medicaid coverage for individuals who may be employed and not able to afford healthcare coverage whose income level is between 133% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level; and

WHEREAS, the success of the ACA depends now largely on how well it is implemented at the state level; and

WHEREAS, since the law passed, states have been instructed to prepare for statewide enrollment in October 2013 for marketplaces and the new pool of Medicaid eligible residents; and

WHEREAS, of the 50 states, in May 2013, approximately 20 governors & their state legislatures have opposed plans to expand Medicaid while two states have proposed to "weigh other options"; and

WHEREAS, many of the 22 governors have chosen to publicly denounce the ACA on political principle while over 19,000,000 residents in these respective states continue to live without healthcare coverage.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the NAACP reaffirms its 2010 and 2012 resolutions supporting the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NAACP will urge state and local units to utilize their extensive network of clergy, government officials, community partners, and community members to conduct outreach activities directed toward our more difficult-to-reach-community members, informing them of health insurance marketplaces; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP commends those states with governors who reversed their decisions to oppose Medicaid expansion and chose to implement this option including the states of Arizona and New Jersey; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NAACP opposes the decisions of either the governor and/or the state legislatures of following states: Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming that have chosen to oppose the ACA funds needed to expand services to the most vulnerable Americans who will now qualify for Medicaid under the new law; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP directs all of its units in these states to take immediate action with legislative office visits, press conferences, public forums, op-ed's and other promotional initiatives to speak out against these decisions.