President Barack Obama Calls on Latinos to Enroll at Affordable Care Act Town Hall Hosted by Spanish-language Media Giants

USA - English

• Latin America - español

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented event, media giants Univision, Telemundo, and impreMedia joined together to host a town hall with President Barack Obama. This media event "Tu Salud y La Nueva Ley: Conversación con el Presidente ("Your Health and the New Law: A Conversation with the President") addressed issues and concerns that have served as barriers to health insurance enrollment for the Latino community. The town hall was part of The California Endowment's Asegúrate campaign's "Countdown to Coverage" heading towards the end of open enrollment, March 31.

The president urged Latinos in mixed status families to get enrolled and not fear deportation. "For everybody out there who's in a mixed family there is no sharing of the data from the health care plan into immigration services. You should feel confident that if somebody in your family is eligible you should sign them up," said the president.

In many immigrant communities, fear and anxiety over deportation have kept Latinos from enrolling family members, including U.S. born children in health coverage. Currently, there are approximately 10.2 million eligible, but uninsured Latinos in the U.S. and roughly 8.1 million who qualify for discounted health coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Nationwide Latinos are nearly a third of the uninsured, yet make up 17 percent of the population and are more likely to be uninsured than any other ethnic group in the U.S. In California nearly 60 percent of the uninsured are Latino. In response to the huge enrollment gap, The California Endowment developed the Asegúrate media partnership to reach the millions of low-income, uninsured Latinos in California and get them enrolled into health coverage.

"The success of Affordable Care Act depends on enrollment. And that means getting Latinos enrolled. President Obama's support today will go a long way, especially his reassurance that enrollment information cannot be used for immigration enforcement purposes. Fear of deportation is very real in our communities and hopefully after hearing our president today, that will no longer be the case," said Daniel Zingale, Senior Vice President at The California Endowment.

The one-hour event was streamed live in Spanish on the media partners' websites, and in English at WhiteHouse.gov and the Fusion network. The town hall will be televised on March 8 on Univision's Galavision network and on Telemundo with portions shared on MSN Latino and will be broadcast on Univision America radio. Univision will also broadcast on Los Angeles' KMEX station on March 9.

The event was co-hosted by renowned journalists Jose Diaz-Balart, news anchor of "Noticias Telemundo" and host of "Enfoque con Jose Diaz-Balart"; Enrique Acevedo co-anchor of "Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna"; and Maryl Celiz, content director at impreMedia for the Asegúrate campaign.

During the first half hour, the co-hosts asked President Obama questions about the law and its impact on the Latino community. The second half of the program featured expert panelists who addressed more specific questions from the audience. These panelists were:

• Mayra Alvarez, Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Annette Raveneau, National Latino Press Secretary and Regional Communications Director at Enroll America
• Clarissa Martinez, Director of Civic Engagement an Immigration at National Council of La Raza
• Yándary Zavala, Communications Project Manager, Voto Latino
• Maria Beltran, California Outreach Coordinator, Young Invincibles

Broadcasts:         Saturday, March 8
                           Galavision at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST/7 p.m. PST 
                           Telemundo at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST/8 p.m. PST

                           Sunday, March 9
                           Univision KMEX Los Angeles Time 6 a.m.

Video On Demand*:

              Univision (Spanish):      http://www.univision.com/asegurate 
              Fusion (English):          http://fusion.net/leadership/story/obamacare-town-hall-469333 
              Telemundo (Spanish):   http://www.telemundo.com/Noticias

*Note: Online recordings of the program will be available a few hours after airing.

To join the conversation follow @Calendow_Here, @UniNoticias, @UniAsegurate, @LaOpinionLA, @eldiariony, @TelemundoNews @Telemundo @LaCasaBlana @WhiteHouse #TuSaludyObama #Asegurate or visit us out on Facebook and Instagram.

About the Asegurate Campaign

Asegurate a multi-year bilingual outreach and enrollment campaign designed to educate Latino and lower-income Californians about Obamacare and to drive them to enroll in Medi-Cal or private insurance through Covered California, the state's health benefits marketplace. The campaign's target audience represents groups with the highest percentage of uninsured. The campaign includes a major Spanish-language media partnership among Univisión, Telemundo, and impreMedia, who are among the nation's largest Spanish-language media outlets; The California Endowment, a private foundation advocating for health and health equity; Covered California and AARP. Together, the three media partners reach nearly 100 percent of the state's Latino population—approximately 15 million Californians—using television and print reporting, public service announcements, documentaries, and digital media.

About impreMedia

impreMedia is the leading Hispanic news and Information Company in the U.S. in online and print. impreMedia's multi-platform offerings range from online to video, social media, mobile, audio, newspapers and magazines, including IMPOWER, it´s Digital Publisher Group. 25.5% of U.S. Hispanic adults use an impreMedia network product. The network is also the nation's largest Hispanic newspaper publisher with newspapers in top U.S. Hispanic markets, reaching 15 markets total that represent 59% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Its leading publications include La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York. For more information, visit: http://www.impreMedia.com.

About Telemundo Media

Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal, is a world-class media company, leading the industry in the production and distribution of high-quality Spanish-language content across its multiplatform portfolio to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. Telemundo's multiple platforms include the Telemundo Network, a Spanish-language television network featuring original productions, theatrical motion pictures, news and first-class sports events, reaching  U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 16 owned stations, broadcast and MVPD affiliates; mun2, the preeminent voice for young Hispanics in the U.S. reaching TV households nationwide on digital and analog cable, and satellite; Telemundo Digital Media, which distributes Telemundo's original content across digital and emerging platforms including mobile devices, www.telemundo.com and www.mun2.tv; an owned and operated full power station in Puerto Rico that reaches 99% of all TV households in that DMA; and Telemundo Internacional, the international distribution arm which has positioned Telemundo as the second largest provider of Spanish-language content worldwide by syndicating content to more than 100 countries in over 35 languages.

About Univision News

Univision's award-winning News division is committed to informing the country's fastest growing segment across all media platforms, including TV, Radio, and Interactive. Hispanics count on the latest and most relevant content that impacts the community through: "Noticiero Univision," the Network's evening, late evening and weekend national newscast; Sunday public affairs program "Al Punto" (To The Point); newsmagazine shows "Aquí y Ahora" (Here and Now) and "Primer Impacto" (First Impact); as well as morning news segments on "Despierta América" (Wake Up America). In the last year, Univision has strengthened its news team and expanded its news operations by adding Investigative and Documentary Units.

About Univision Communications Inc.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) is the leading media company serving Hispanic America. The Company, a leading content creator in the U.S., includes Univision Network, one of the top five networks in the U.S. regardless of language and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the country reaching approximately 96% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network reaching approximately 89% of U.S. Hispanic television households; Univision Cable Networks, including Galavisión, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network, as well as Univision tlnovelas, a 24-hour cable network dedicated to novelas, Univision Deportes Network, a 24-hour cable network dedicated to sports, ForoTV, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to news, and an additional  suite of six cable offerings - De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson, Telehit and Distrito Comedia; Univision Television Group, which owns and/or operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Hispanic radio group which owns and/or operates 69 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico, as well as Uforia, the leading Hispanic digital music service; UVideos, the first bilingual digital video network serving Hispanic America; an Interactive network of online and mobile apps and products including Univision.com, which continues to be the No. 1 most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. online Hispanics, and Univision Partner Group, a specialized advertising and publisher network. UCI's assets also include a minority stake in El Rey Network, a new 24-hour English-language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and a joint venture with Disney/ABC Television Network for Fusion, a news, pop culture and satire TV and digital network. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit Univision.net.

About The California Endowment

The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. Through its 'Health Happens Here' campaign and ten-year initiative for Building Healthy Communities, The Endowment is creating places where children are healthy, safe and ready to learn. At its core, The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. For more information, visit The California Endowment's homepage at www.calendow.org.

SOURCE Asegurate Campaign