More ACA news from KPBS and UAB

It's time to follow up on More ACA implementation from KPBS and UAB.  Under this blog's "if it moves, it leads" policy, I begin with What You Need To Know About The Upcoming ACA Deadline from KPBS.

We speak with Covered California Spokeswoman Lizelda Lopez and Gary Rotto, director of health policy at the Council for Community Clinics San Diego about what you need to know as the Dec. 23 Affordable Care Act deadline approaches.

Follow over the jump for more on the ACA from KPBS and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

KPBS: Covered California Officials Admit They Need To Do More To Attract Latinos
By Kenny Goldberg
Originally published December 19, 2013 at 6 a.m., updated December 19, 2013 at 3:31 p.m.

In California, people who primarily speak Spanish make up 29 percent of the population.

But so far, that group makes up only 5 percent of those who’ve signed up for health insurance through Covered California. Officials say statewide in October and November, fewer than 4,500 primarily Spanish-speakers enrolled in a plan.

California is not the only state facing this issue. Kevin Counihan directs Connecticut’s exchange, called Health Access CT. He said Latino enrollment in his state is also low.

This is a follow-up to coverage of this issue in KPBS and others on the ACA for the week of Thanksgiving and More ACA implementation from KPBS and UAB.  Enrollment of Spanish speakers looks like it will be a persistent issue for the ACA.

KPBS continues its viewer question series about the ACA with Second Opinion: How Will Feds Enforce Individual Mandate?

Miccilina Piraino says the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is an overstep and unfair to those with limited means to obtain health insurance. She wants to know how the government plans to enforce the requirement to buy health insurance.

To answer her questions, the homeless, if they can be found, would qualify under Medicaid, while undocumented immigrants wouldn't qualify at all.  Now, if she means Spanish speakers, that's already a known problem and is being addressed, as I wrote above.

UAB has answers to other questions in How will the ACA impact small employers?

UAB's Michael Morrisey discusses the how the Affordable Care Act impacts the small group exchange and what this means for small employers.

That concludes this week in news about the ACA AKA Obamacare.  Stay tuned for another installment after the new year.