Champions of Change Blog

Citizenship: A New Strategy for Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Economic Growth

Posted by Bob Annibale on October 30, 2014 at 1:59 PM EDT

Bob Annibale is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

At Citi, we are focused on innovative and practical solutions to ensure that communities have access to resources and opportunities that enable them to achieve their potential and to climb up the economic ladder. Immigrants are, historically and increasingly, a dynamic part of our neighborhoods, and their financial success is directly tied to our nation’s economic growth. That is why Citi joined the mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles. and New York, as well as The Center for Popular Democracy and The National Partnership for New Americans, as the founding corporate partner of Cities for Citizenship.

Cities for Citizenship is a major national initiative that recognizes the contribution of immigrants and how citizenship can serve as an economic asset. It aims to increase citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents, as well as encourage cities across the country to invest in citizenship and financial capability programs.

On behalf of Citi, I am honored to be named as a Champion of Change by the White House. But I must share this recognition with all of my coworkers at Citi and with our partners who have provided critical national leadership, especially Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Our shared goal is to increase access to legal and financial services and contribute to enabling more inclusive cities across the country. Through this program, cities and their community partners will deliver financial counseling, legal support, application guidance, naturalization test preparation, and other assistance to eligible immigrants.

This initiative and partnership will enable immigrants to build a valuable financial identity as they also pursue a national identity. This is critical since the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports that about 20 percent of foreign-born households have never had a bank account, which has driven immigrants to use alternative financial services that often come with higher costs and risks. Instead, Cities for Citizenship aims to build a stronger foundation for the American Dream.

Moreover, it is a strategy that makes good economic sense.

There are approximately 8.8 million legal permanent residents in America who are eligible for citizenship. These are documented residents who pay taxes and work lawfully. Yet, 52 percent of them remain low-income. Their naturalization would provide access to better-paying jobs, academic scholarships, and other benefits. It would also provide billions of dollars in stimulus to the national economy over the next few years.

This would mean up to $1.6 billion for Chicago’s economy, $2.8 billion for the Los Angeles economy, and a $4.1 billion boost for New York City’s economy, according to the report “Citizenship: A Wise Investment for Cities.”

Cities for Citizenship considers citizenship and immigrant integration as powerful platforms to promote widespread financial inclusion and truly inclusive economic growth. We are excited to work with more municipalities on this project and share the collective efforts of our partners with The White House.

Bob Annibale is the Global Director of Citi Community Development, which leads Citi's initiatives and partnerships supporting inclusive finance.

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The Affordable Care Act as Viewed by a Sister of Mercy

Posted by Joan Serda on October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM EDT

Joan Serda is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

As an educator, I know the importance of health care. I’ve always had the privilege of having health insurance, so I’ve never had to worry about paying a medical bill or paying for a prescription. I haven’t had to be concerned about how to pay for the care of a sick child, spouse, or parent.

In Georgia, there is a lot of poverty, and many people don’t have health insurance. In Bibb County, where I live, there are tens of thousands of young people without health insurance.

Emergency rooms are not the answer to good health care. They are intended for emergencies. Emergency room visits are time-consuming and should be a last resort. They result in very expensive care and no follow-up. Often, patients don’t improve, and visits simply reoccur.

The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction, enabling many to obtain health insurance that they can afford. If children are healthy, they will learn more, and our schools will improve. If adults are healthy, they will be able to work more effectively and help their children grow, be healthy, and contribute to society.

I know a woman who had a possible cancer but refused to go to the doctor because she couldn’t afford it. But now, through the Affordable Care Act, she was able to get insurance and see a doctor. Another woman I know had insurance through her employer, but coverage through the ACA drastically reduced her premium without sacrificing health insurance coverage.

As a Sister of Mercy, I vowed to serve the poor, sick, and uneducated. Working with Get Covered America gave me the opportunity to help people become better educated about health coverage. I volunteered for ten hours a week to help people understand the Affordable Care Act. Many people were unaware of the opportunities available, and many had seen and heard false information. Some were fearful of something new and did not understand how health insurance works. Much education is needed, so I will continue as a volunteer for Get Covered America during the upcoming enrollment period.

Joan Serda is the Assistant Justice Coordinator for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community.

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Alleviating the Burden of Circumstance

Posted by Peter Yang on October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM EDT

Peter Yang is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

I believe that we are all products not only of our choices but also of our circumstances. There is a surprisingly prevalent misconception that people in adverse situations somehow deserve the hardships they face. Working in my community in Georgia, I’ve come to regard that idea as severely misguided; I have met so many hardworking individuals who, despite their best efforts, are trapped in a socioeconomic pit that they cannot dig themselves out of.

I first became involved in my community as an undergraduate at Emory University, when I saw the incredible impact of volunteerism in the surrounding community. During this time, I met many of the leaders and visionaries of the Asian American community in Georgia. Inspired by these individuals, upon graduation, I moved on to work at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, where I was tasked with outreach for the Affordable Care Act during the first period of Open Enrollment. Prior to this work, my sole experience with the Affordable Care Act had been learning about its intricacies in a classroom setting. As I learned more about the program and its effect on the communities we serve, I began to see the law as a huge step in the right direction to improve the lives of the individuals that struggled with adverse circumstances.

Adequate access to health care is an essential part of human society. Some would even argue that it is a human right. Yet, the United States is severely behind the majority of other developed countries in providing that access. Georgia is home to one of the fastest growing populations of immigrants and refugees, and these individuals often lack adequate health insurance coverage. The more I worked with these individuals, the more I saw the human beings whose lives were impacted by the ACA.

The law has been successful thus far, but we still have more work to do. I am deeply honored to be selected as a Champion of Change but also just as honored that I have had the opportunity to serve these communities by promoting the Affordable Care Act.

Peter Yang is the Affordable Care Act Program Coordinator at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services.

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Serious Illness Taught Me the Value of Insurance

Posted by Cecelia Smaha on October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM EDT

Cecelia Smaha is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

I don’t remember driving home from work with the Georgia Department of Labor on November 19, 1999. I had flu-like symptoms and felt awful that day. My housemate was so alarmed when I arrived home that she tried to get me to call an ambulance. I refused because my insurance would not pay for the ambulance if the hospital didn’t admit me. I didn’t think I was that sick, and I couldn’t afford to pay the ambulance fee.

Blessed by God to have such a caring housemate, I made it through the weekend. But on Monday, I ended up in the hospital in a coma and was placed in the acute intensive care unit. Three weeks later, I awoke from the coma to learn that I’d had a severe E. coli bacterial infection and was lucky to be alive.

I was in the hospital for seven weeks, but I also had a long period of recuperation to follow that hospital stay. I never gave any thought to the cost of my hospital stay until I got the bill from the hospital. I couldn’t fathom paying almost a quarter of a million dollars! And that bill didn’t even include any of the doctors’ bills nor the aftercare with home nurses. I didn’t have that kind of money. The only thing I owned was my car.

I was advised not to pay anything until I checked with my insurance company. As it turned out, my insurance paid for everything. Because of residual effects from this illness, I still have medical complications, but my insurance continues to pay. This was a lesson of a lifetime: Everyone needs insurance.

On December 12, 2001, I was privileged to become an associate of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community. In this role, I help provide services to people who are less fortunate, including the economically poor and the less well-educated. When the Affordable Care Act passed, I was jubilant. I saw this as an opportunity to put Mercy into action. I jumped at the chance to help spread information about the ACA through Get Covered America in Georgia.

I gave my time and energy to helping get the word out at churches, on the streets, and by working 10 hours each week for more than two and a half months at our local Kmart. Through a mutual agreement with Kmart and Get Covered America, I was privileged to do an event at our local Kmart, where I set up a table and greeted customers, explaining the Affordable Care Act to local shoppers. Through these opportunities, I helped make contact with over 2,000 Georgians.

I look forward to working with Get Covered America again this year. I am also spreading the word about my state’s refusal to expand Medicare, and I’m working to ensure its expansion—because nobody should be left without health insurance.

Cecelia Smaha is an associate of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community.

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Bringing the Benefits of Health Insurance to Low- and Moderate-Income Americans

Posted by Bill Forbes on October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM EDT

Bill Forbes is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

All public service volunteer activities have the potential to be highly rewarding. It’s particularly gratifying, though, when one’s volunteer work addresses the underlying cause of an important societal need. That’s how I see my work with Get Covered America. The mission of GCA is to encourage uninsured Americans and legal residents to get enrolled in a health insurance plan through the Healthcare Marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act.

The primary objective of the ACA is to bring the benefits of health insurance to a larger fraction of Americans, in particular to those living in poverty or near poverty. Without health insurance, families already struggling to achieve economic security could be overwhelmed by health care costs at any time.

Get Covered America focuses its efforts on outreach and education. In partnership with a wide spectrum of educational, religious, and service organizations, we reach out to the uninsured with information about their options for high-quality, affordable health insurance under the Healthcare Marketplace.

Among the uninsured, lack of knowledge about the provisions of the ACA is a major barrier to getting enrolled. A study commissioned by Get Covered America conducted shortly after the first Open Enrollment period found that only 26% of those who did not enroll were aware that the law gives financial help in the form of tax subsidies to low- and moderate-income Americans. The study found that only 28% of those who did not enroll were aware that free in-person enrollment assistance was available and that less than half who did not enroll knew that health plans cannot deny people coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

We provide that information and more to individuals we meet at public events, at schools, at houses of worship, and through our many partner organizations, including health institutions and social service groups. In addition, we refer these individuals to the various local agencies that provide in-person enrollment assistance. One of the hallmarks of our program is follow-up, by phone and email, with the people we meet who express a need and desire to get enrolled. Working with GCA, I have found that follow-up beyond the initial contact very significantly increases the likelihood that an individual will complete the enrollment process.

It is a source of tremendous satisfaction for me and the many other GCA volunteers and staff to know that the lives of many of the people we help will be improved in concrete and long-lasting ways.

Bill Forbes is a volunteer with the Get Covered America campaign.

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Connecting Muslims to Coverage

Posted by Khadija Gurnah on October 27, 2014 at 10:35 AM EDT

Khadija Gurnah is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

There are a number of cultural, language, and financial barriers that prevent the traditional government messaging and resource dissemination strategies from reaching the Muslim community. These barriers vary greatly with each local community, as Muslim Americans represent diverse socioeconomic strata, immigration statuses, cultures, ethnicities, languages, histories, and religious approaches and interpretations. Assistance that is tailored to these diverse needs is critical to any effective public health initiative in the Muslim community.

American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP) is a national, non-profit organization of American Muslims in health professions. During the last period of Open Enrollment, our goal was to cater to the needs of the uninsured Muslim population by promoting awareness of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

To achieve this, we had a two-pronged approach to outreach. At a grassroots level, we implemented enrollment campaigns in individual states. At a national level, we served as a resource for information and coordinated National Muslim Enrollment Weekend with a coalition of Muslim organizations.

At a grassroots level, we recruited “Community Liaisons” in seven states. The liaisons worked with their local faith communities to host enrollment and outreach events. We recognized that our communities needed cultural ambassadors to encourage their local faith communities to host events. Our most effective cultural ambassadors were recent graduates from health fields. They were excited, passionate, and well-established within their communities. AMHP also supported volunteers and partner organizations across the nation by connecting them with local Navigators and providing resources such as event planning guides, outreach materials tailored to Muslim communities, flyers, sign-up sheets, and a Jumah Khutba guide for imams to discuss the Affordable Care Act during sermons.

We established a clear tracking plan to help us keep metrics on outreach. We sent out a very simple form to anyone who planned to host an enrollment event. We also followed up afterward with another form. The form tracked attendance and enrollment and included a thank you to everyone for their time and commitment. We used the tracking form to update an online events page that allowed people to find enrollment events in their area.

We were also part of a national coalition of Muslim organizations that facilitated national Muslim Enrollment weekend. Together, we rolled out the first national health campaign targeting the Muslim community. We partnered with amazing facilitators at Get Covered America and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to reach as many Muslim Americans as possible.

We were met with overwhelming support from the Muslim community. Over the course of the enrollment period, we made contact with 27,116 people and enrolled 1,662 people in high-quality, affordable health insurance plans.

As we prepare for the next enrollment period, we are looking forward to building upon our existing infrastructure to reach new communities across the nation. It is an honor to be part of this moment in our nation’s history and to help address the needs of our nation’s uninsured.

Khadija Gurnah is the Program Manager for the American Muslim Health Professionals’ Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment efforts.

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