President Obama speaks with Local Officials about Affordable Care Act

President Barack Obama participates in a phone call with mayors, county 
officials, and state legislators on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the 
Oval Office, Sept. 25, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 

The launch date for the marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to purchase health care insurance is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, October 1.

Insurance companies will begin competing with each other to sell health insurance to people on an open exchange who doesn't currently have coverage through their jobs, the VA, Medicare or Medicaid.

President Obama along with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spent Wednesday afternoon on a telephone conference with state and local elected officials from across America discussing the particulars of the program.

During the call, the President stressed that there's still much work to be done when the marketplaces open and over the next six months during the enrollment period, which ends on March 31, 2014.

Signed into law March 23, 2010, the ACA is slated to provide millions of uninsured Americans access to affordable health insurance, specifically the law requires that no one can be denied coverage that has an preexisting condition and adult children now will be able to stay on their parents policy until age 26.  The ACA also requires that annual wellness visits be made readily available and provides for free preventive services for some seniors with Medicare.  Most importantly, insurance companies will now have to justify any premium increases of 10% or more before the rate takes effect.

The President ended the call by urging state and local elected officials to use their roles as leaders within their communites to help spread the word to the uninsured within their respective communities.

For more information about the new insurance marketplace or to enroll starting October 1, families and small business owners can visit www.HealthCare.gov or call the toll-free call center 24/7 at (800) 318-2596, there will be trained customer service representatives waiting who can answer your questions.