Shaq presents the White House Game-a-thon

That’s right, Obama is going out with a bang and he’s brought a familiar face in gaming to help him bring awareness to Health Care for Gamers and youths. The big man himself, Shaquille O’Neal, announced the new initiative which will be hosted live from the White House on Monday the 12th of December in an effort to help people sign up for healthcare coverage, a key aspect of Obama’s campaign.

Shaq entered competitive gaming a few months ago after investing in NRG Esports unleashing a volley of investments and interest from other sporting stars. Shaq has been passionate about competitive gaming for sometime, so there’s honestly no better person than Shaq to announce this new initiative. Superstar aside, health care is important, and is often overlooked in gaming, and as I mentioned above a large part of Obama’s presidency, and success, came from the ObamaCare initiative – says the White House press release:

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 20 million Americans now know the peace of mind and financial security of having health insurance. Young adults had the highest uninsured rates before the Affordable Care Act and have seen the sharpest drop in uninsured rates since 2010. But millions of millennials remain uninsured, and many of those uninsured young adults could qualify for tax credits on the Health Insurance Marketplace to keep insurance affordable. In fact, most HealthCare.gov consumers can find a plan for under $75 a month, less than their cell phone bill.

Gaming organizations have also realized the importance of health care and have urged gamers to make sure they’re covered.

Gamers, like everyone, deserve high-quality health care coverage. Engaging the expanding gamer community is part of the Administration’s effort to meet people where they are to help them find a health care plan that’s best for them. That’s why last year, many from the eSports industry, including ESL, Twitch.tv and GEER, helped launch an initiative to encourage more gamers to sign up for health care at HealthCare.gov. And this year, HHS has forged innovative partnerships with digital platforms to help young adults understand that quality, affordable health care is within reach.

The event will be live streamed on the Get Covered Twitch channel starting at 4pm Eastern Time (very late o’clock SAST), so if you’re a night owl tune in, who knows we may even get to see Shaq vs. Obama.

Last Updated: December 9, 2016