The federal government is expected to announce this week how many Illinoisans enrolled in the federal health care program known as ObamaCare. The Illinois Policy Institute’s Director of Health Policy, Naomi Lopez-Bauman, will be available to comment on these figures as well as provide updates on the law’s impact here in Illinois and nationally.

Lopez-Bauman, a longtime health policy expert, can comment on the following:

• How many people in Illinois and nationwide did the government predict would sign up for ObamaCare? How do the actual numbers compare to the initial predictions?

• Are “enough” people signing up for ObamaCare? The federal health insurance overhaul relies on young and healthy people to make a big enough “pool” to offset the expenses of older participants. Do these initial numbers indicate whether ObamaCare will have enough people to be effective?

• Positive and negative impacts of ObamaCare. For example: How many people have lost coverage? There have been many reports of people losing their existing health coverage because it didn’t qualify under the new federal standards. Could this law actually lead to more people being uninsured?

• What do Illinois families need to know before the Dec. 15 deadline to obtain healthcare coverage?

About Naomi Lopez-Bauman: A longtime public policy expert and specialist in the health policy field, Naomi joined the Illinois Policy Institute in 2013. Prior to joining the Institute, Naomi served as a researcher and analyst with the Pacific Research Institute in California and the nationally-acclaimed Cato Institute. She has appeared on PBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox News and MSNBC, and is the author of more than 100 studies. Naomi has been published in Investor’s Business Daily, the Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Daily Journal, among other news outlets.