The "Healthy Communities Challenge" is launched to call on community leaders from 20 key communities across the U.S. to get more people covered under Obama's Affordable Care Act.
The Obama administration claims that since the Affordable Care Act came to effect in 2010, more than 17 million Americans have gained coverage, reducing the uninsured rate by as much as 45 percent.
Records show that around 16 percent of Americans were uninsured in June 2010. However, that number has dropped to 9 percent in 2015 of the same month, the lowest percentage that was recorded to date.
The new data came from the National Health Interview Survey. According to the survey, there are over 20 million Americans previously uninsured who have gained access to affordable health care during the past five years.
Officials in the Obama administration touted the new data as evidence that the ObamaCare program is a success.
"After 5 years of the Affordable Care Act: 30 million young adults can no longer be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition; 105 million Americans no longer have a lifetime limit on their health coverage; 137 million Americans are guaranteed preventive care coverage; and more than 16 million Americans have gained health coverage," wrote the White House on its official blog post.
However, twenty states which are mostly led by Republicans who are resistant to the law, remain with no access to health care coverage, thus leaving more than 10 million eligible Americans still uninsured.
"Community collaboration with local, state and federal officials can have a meaningful impact in helping these people get the health coverage they need," said the White House.
At least 20 communities are participating in the "Healthy Communities Challenge" with the goal of finding out which communities have made the most progress. The data can be gathered by tallying new Marketplace signups and then comparing the results to the uninsured rates that were recorded in the beginning of the open enrollment period.
Apart from becoming a healthier community because it has the most coverage, the winning community will also receive a visit from President Barack Obama as part of their celebration.
The 20 communities participating in the challenge include:
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Milwaukee, WI
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Nashville, TN
5. Chicago, IL
6. New Orleans, LA
7. Dallas, TX
8. Oakland, CA
9. Denver, CO
10. Philadelphia, PA
11. Detroit, MI
12. Phoenix, AZ
13. Great Falls, MT
14. Richmond, VA
15. Kansas City, MO
16. Salt Lake City, UT
17. Las Vegas, NV
18. Seattle, WA
19. Long Beach, CA
20. Tampa, FL
