… high school and graduate from college.
The program, called the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, coordinates with several federal agencies to create a range of education programs for black students. The program works with the White House’s initiative on historically black colleges as well. The program seems to have worked. Upon entering the White House, the graduation rates of African Americans were 63.5%, they have since jumped all the way up to 70.7%.
6. Helping Black Businesses
President Obama cut taxes for small business owners 18 times, and signed into law $200 billion in tax relief and incentives that benefited American businesses over the last three years to encourage them to create jobs and invest in growth.
The President’s Small Business Jobs Act made 4.5 million small businesses eligible for a larger tax break on new investments in equipment and machinery. It also put more capital into the hands of Black-owned businesses, supporting more than $12 billion in small business loans, 21 percent of which went to minority-owned businesses.
7. Changed The Face Of The $20 Bill
It was the Obama administration that pushed for the face of the $20 bill to change to that of a Black woman. Harriet Tubman’s face will the face of the new $20 bill coming in 2020. In the face of those who don’t even recognize that slavery every existed, the Obama admisitration put a former slave on the most popular bill in the country.
8. Passed The Affordable Care Act
We can’t forget the Affordable Care Act. Before the Affordable Care Act, nearly one-third of African Americans did not have health care. When the highly debated health care reform bill was signed into law in March of 2010, millions of African Americans benefited.
The Affordable Care Act expands insurance coverage by a number of mechanisms the some examples include establishing the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which is working to make health insurance coverage available to individuals who have been uninsured for at least six months and have been denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition.
ACA made the 4.1 million African Americans making less than $14,403.90 and a family of four making less than $29,326.50 eligible for Medicaid. In addition, individuals without dependent children or who are not pregnant are now eligible for Medicaid.
Because of the ACA, health plans are now required to cover certain preventive and immunization services without charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance. Specifically, new health plans will have to offer consumers 45 free screenings and other preventive services, mainly ones that disproportionately impact African-Americans including:
• Blood pressure testing
• Cardiovascular screening
• Cervical cancer screening
• Cholesterol measurement
• Colorectal cancer screening
• Depression
• Diabetes screening
• HIV testing
• Immunizations and vaccines
• Mammograms
• Obesity screening and counseling
• Screening newborns for sickle cell disease
8 Incredible Accomplishments Of President Barack Obama was originally published on blackdoctor.org
