'Insurance godmothers' sign up Latinos for Obamacare in pro-Trump areas as he threatens to repeal it

Suburbs in South Florida that have swung toward former President Donald Trump are where the “Obamacare” health care program is more popular than anywhere else in the country

MIAMI -- Salsa music blares from the food court in a rundown Miami shopping center as Latinos head to a kiosk and an office showing signs for “Obamacare,” where they hope to renew their health coverage plans before the year ends.

It’s areas near this mall where former President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is more popular than anywhere in the country, according to federal data. The region has also shifted away from Democrats to Republicans in recent years, with former President Donald Trump hosting several rallies here as part of his outreach to Latino voters.

Trump has vowed to renew efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 law — something that would be felt heavily in the region and could possibly reverse some of the GOP shift among South Florida's Latinos, experts here say.

President Joe Biden's reelection campaign has already seized on Trump's statements about “Obamacare," enacted when Biden was vice president, as part of its broader efforts to shape the widely expected 2024 rematch between him and Trump.

“Health insurance is something that is extremely needed for everyone,” said Odalys Arevalo, one of the managing partners of a health insurance agency serving Spanish-speaking clients in Miami. “And I know that everybody that supports the Republican Party that has health insurance through Obamacare would not support the fact that it would be taken away from one day to another. That is a fact.”