Former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson is promoting Obamacare on behalf of the White House by urging folks to get health insurance before it’s too late.
“All athletes know that a broken bone, or knee surgery can cost a lot, and medical bills can add up,” he said Wednesday in a blog post on the White House’s website. “But it doesn’t just happen to professional athletes, it can happen to anybody. And, without health insurance, some medical treatments can cost thousands of dollars.”
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The L.A. Lakers legend said the “good news” is that “you can finally get the health insurance you need” through the Affordable Care Act.
He said people should log onto the federal Obamacare site, HealthCare.gov, and enroll by March 31.
The Obama administration is trying to get young, healthy people to balance out state risk pools when sicker patients with preexisting conditions enter the market, because they can no longer be denied coverage.
Experts say roughly 40 percent of enrollees should be in the 18 -34 age group. But so far, only a quarter of enrollees nationwide fall into that category.
The Obama administration tried to get the National Football League to promote Obamacare before health exchanges launched in October, but the league declined amid warnings from GOP lawmakers that it would be a poor move.
Mr. Johnson played in the NBA for 13 seasons that spanned the entire 1980s. He announced in 1991 that he was HIV positive, a high-profile step in awareness about the virus, and later won a gold medal with the historic U.S. “Dream Team” at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
