White House Pushes for Black Enrollees

[The Hill]

The Obama administration is engaged in a “final coordinated push” to enroll blacks in ObamaCare, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Friday.

Jarrett said blacks have a “disproportionately low rate of coverage,” and called enrolling them the administration’s “top priority.”

“We still have a long way to go and we want to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity for outreach,” she said in a Friday conference call with reporters and three mayors that preside over large black communities: Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, Calif., Michael Nutter of Philadelphia and A.C. Wharton of Memphis, Tenn.

An estimated 6.8 million African-Americans lack healthcare coverage. The 2014 enrollment deadline closes on March 31.

The Obama administration said youth organizers and stakeholders would be launching enrollment events targeting black youths in the coming weeks. Jarrett also highlighted some of the black celebrities and athletes that the administration has brought on board for the push. They include Magic Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Aisha Tyler, Pharrell Williams and Kerry Washington.

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