HEALTHCARE REFORM AND YOU Latinos make up a significant percentage of the uninsured in America, so its no surprise that the Latino community had cause to celebrate when President Barack Obama signed the Health Care Reform Act into law last year. Unfortunately, today, there are efforts mounting in the newly elected Congress to repeal the Health Care Reform Act, and scale back any progress we’ve made towards ensuring our most vulnerable populations can receive the care and treatment they need. Last month, the House passed a repeal of the bill , however, similar efforts in the Senate this week, were unsuccessful. While this is cer-tainly a victory, the opponents of health care have not been dis-suaded, they are in fact committed to continuing fighting for a repeal. There’s a lot of confusion over just what the healthcare law does and so we thought we would highlight some of the more important provi-sions that have already taken effect, and others that are due to take effect in 2014. Find out what you stand to lose if we allow politics to be played with an issue as important as the health and well-being of our nation’s citizens. (page 2)

FEBRUARY 2011 DEMOCRACIA

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Healthcare Reform: what’s at stake

Clean Air and our future

Colorado’s anti-immigrant bill introduced

Democracia files suit against Governor Rick

Scott (R-FL) in fight for Fair Districts

N

5 Benefits the Hispanic

Community stands to lose if

Congress repeals

Health Care Reform

1. Young Adult Coverage until Age 26

Prior to passage of the reform act, over 2 million young adults were left uninsured, resulting often times in expensive emergency room visits. Today, millions of young people across the country can now remain on their parent’s coverage until they turn 26 as a result of Health Care Reform.

2. Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP)

Prior to the passage of the reform act, millions of Americans, including children, were denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Common chronic conditions like Diabetes , asthma, or high blood pressure were enough for an insurance company to refuse covering patients. Today, we can feel secure knowing that our health issues won’t prevent us from seeking the care and treatment we need moving forward.

3. Preventive Care and Services

The best way to manage your health is through preventative care. Early diagnosis is critical in successfully combating many illnesses. Prior to the passage of the Health Care Reform Act, mil-lions of Americans were unable to get diagnosed early, while others had to suffer or pass on the cost of expensive visits to the emergency room. Starting September 2010, insurance companies will have to offer you "first-dollar" coverage of preventative care, which means they have to pay for it even if you haven't paid your full deductible. Under the new plan, we now have access to free testing for conditions such as High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and Cholesterol tests as well as Cancer screenings, including Mammograms and Colonoscopies.

4. Preserving Doctor Choice and Ensuring Emergency Care

Under Health Care Reform, we continue to have the right to choose which doctors we see and will not have to worry about being turned away from the emergency room under any circumstances.

5. Eliminating Lifetime and Annual Limits on Your Benefits

There is no longer a limit on the cost of essential care. Health Care will no longer get cut off because of spending caps. In addition, lifetime limits on benefits and restrictive annual limits on benefits are banned.

PROVISIONS THAT GO INTO EFFECT ON JANUARY 1ST, 2014: Medicaid will cover every American earning $14,400 per year or less; this change alone will provide coverage for up to 9 million currently uninsured young adults. Tax credits will be given for purchasing health insurance to those who earn less than $43,000 per year for an individual and lack employer-sponsored insurance, and all annual limits will be banned by 2014.

Nearly two-thirds of Latinos in the United States live in areas that have yet to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality standards, and because of this, face heightened health risks. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Latinos are often concentrated in metropoli-tan areas that have higher levels of air pollut-ants streaming out of machinery, power plants, factories and vehicles. All of these can certainly lead to increased risk of asthma, chronic bronchitis, and lunch cancer, among others. That’s why Democracia has taken a lead in helping to educate the Latino commu-nity on why we need to help pass a Clean Air Act that sets strict air standards and penalties for not meeting those standards On January 31st and February 1st, Democracia joined the National Wildlife Federation’s Fair Climate Team which hosted 70 community leaders from 21 states at its first National Fair Climate Summit. It was a national gathering of leaders from a diversity of cultures (Native American, Latino, Black, Asian), backgrounds and disciplines—faith, business, environ-mental justice, education, civic engage-ment—who came together to begin the

important and hard work of bridging move-ments, networks, and cultures to advance a shared agenda for change. The Summit in-volved a combination of panel and small group discussions, skills training, and shared brainstorming which centered on mo-bilizing and building strong partnerships around importance issues such as the Clean Air Act. These joint efforts are vitally important par-ticularly today, where we not only face resistance to passing a new Clean Air Act, but efforts to take the clean air movement back twenty years. Case in point—current draft legislation being passed around in the Con-gress would strip the Environmental Protec-tion Agency of its power to regulate green-house gases and carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. We can’t let legislation like this succeed. What can you do? Go to our site: www.mydemocracia.org

Clean Air &

Latinos Democracia team members the National Wildlife Federation’s

Climate Team conference

Want to read more? We recommend these online sources: www.goverdeahora.org www.nrdc.org www.1sky.org www.nwf.org www.epa.gov

Democracia Inc. Headquarters: 2915 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, Florida 33137 (305) 573-7329

www.mydemocracia.org

COLORADO’S COPYCAT The state of Colorado is the most recent example of how Arizona’s

anti-immigrant legislation S.B. 1070, has picked up supporters in the

way of copycat bills. Colorado’s state legislature recently introduced

Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), which gives local law enforcement the authority to

detain or arrest anyone they have reason to believe is in the country

illegally; and despite openly denouncing laws like SB 1070 in the past, Governor John

Hickenlooper has not publicly stated whether or not he would veto such legalization. Will the

Hispanic community, which comprise over 20% of the population in the State, remain quiet on

the issue? Not if Democracia can help it. Check back in next month’s newsletter for informa-

tion regarding the launch of our joint campaign to fight SB 54 and if you want to add your voice

to the effort, contact Colorado State Director, Maria de Cambra: 719-242-7100.

DEMOCRACIA SUES FLORIDA

GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT OVER

FAIR DISTRICTS

On February 3rd, 2011, Democracia Inc. , along with Fair Districts Now, the Florida NAACP, and the Florida League of Women Voters, filed suit against Governor Rick Scott (R-FL). This past election, Democracia was instrumental in helping to pass Amendments 5 and 6 on the Florida ballot. The Amendments create rules that prevent the current practice of gerryman-dering (drawing congressional districts to favor one political party over the other) that has run rampant in the State for the past several decades. 63% of Florida voters voted in favor of the amendments which are now officially part of the Florida Constitution. As all ballot initiatives that are successful, they were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice for legal pre-clearance. Unfortunately, Governor Scott and Secretary of State Kurt Browning have inter-rupted that process by withdrawing the law from the process, even though the law requires them to obtain pre-clearance “as soon as possible.” What are they trying to accomplish? A delay of the process so that the new rules cannot be implemented in time for the next elec-tion cycle. “Trying to subvert the will of the voters is certainly the wrong way for the Governor to start off his term. Efforts like these just go to prove that this process has been manipulated for way too long and that those who’ve benefited from drawing unfair districts are not going to give up power so easily. We are confident, however, that at the end of the day, the voice of the people will resonate loudest,” said Jorge Mursuli, President of Democracia Inc.