First Lady Urges Latinos to Sign Up for New Healthcare Initiative

First Lady Michelle Obama asked Latinos to help sign people up for her husband’s health care overhaul, also called the Affordable Care Act. The signup initiative is especially targeting the millions of younger, healthier people the system will need to offset the cost of caring for older, sicker consumers. Reaching out to younger Latino is the key to the new law’s success, she said.

Starting July 31, consumers can create an account at www.healthcare.gov , or www.cuidadodesalud.gov , its Spanish-language equivalent, so they can get ready to sign up for health insurance in the fall, starting on Oct. 1.

“Simply passing the Affordable Care Act was not the goal,” Mrs. Obama said at the recent annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group. “The goal is to get folks to sign up for the insurance so they have the care they need to stay healthy.”

The Obama administration is looking for about 7 million people to sign up for health insurance through marketplaces that are supposed to become available online starting Oct. 1. More than 2.6 million younger enrollees are needed to keep costs down for the overall pool, the White House has said.

“So we need to send them to those websites which have all the information they need about health reform,” Mrs. Obama said.

In the remarks, the first lady tied the push to get the uninsured to sign up for health care to her campaign against childhood obesity, which she said is seriously affecting the health of Latino children. She called the epidemic a policy, public health, family and community issue, and urged families to make the right diet and exercise choices for children who don’t know enough to make the smart decisions on their own.

Mrs. Obama’s remarks are part of a determined effort by the administration to inform the public about the health care law and its benefits as Oct. 1 nears. On Monday, Obama dropped in on a private White House meeting with celebrities including singer Jennifer Hudson and actors Amy Poehler and Kal Penn. The White House said the artists expressed interest in helping spread the word about the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1.