Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement announcing the start of open enrollment through the Health Insurance Marketplaces for 2017. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control, the percentage of Americans without health insurance has decreased from 15.7% in 2010 – when the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and signed in law – to 8.6% today.

“As a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more than twenty million previously uninsured Americans have access to comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage. Under the ACA, millions of Americans will again have excellent choices in the marketplaces, with about eighty-five percent of those in the marketplaces receiving tax credits that will protect them from rate increases. In addition, the ACA will continue to prevent discrimination in health insurance rates against women and people with pre-existing conditions, allow young adults to keep the health insurance their parents have until the age of twenty-six, and disallow annual and lifetime limits on coverage. I encourage anyone in New York State who needs health insurance to visit www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov to learn more about the options that are available.”