On March 30—one day before the official deadline for Marylanders to enroll in private health insurance through the Maryland Health Connection—Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake visited 1199SEIU to highlight success stories of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and urge residents to sign up for health insurance before the end of the open enrollment period.Rawlings-Blake was joined by three Marylanders whose lives were improved by the ACA. Carolyn Taylor-Chester, an 1199 member whose two-year unemployment made it difficult for her to pay for critical treatments for her endometriosis and sleep apnea, spoke out to express her satisfaction at her new healthcare plan.“Before I signed up for my new health insurance plan, it cost me a lot of money to pay for my medications and other expenses—more money than I could afford to spend,” she said. “People should not have to choose between being sick and going broke.”Navigators were on hand to get people enrolled. Overall, 81 people showed up on the rainy Sunday afternoon to sign up for insurance—marking the first time some enrollees had ever held health care coverage. As of March 25, nearly 50,000 Marylanders enrolled in private health insurance through Maryland Health Connection, and 220,000 Marylanders gained Medicaid coverage in 2014.- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/baltimore_mayor_stephanie_rawlings_blake_highlights_success_stories_of_aca#sthash.B8zazDXO.dpuf