White House is announced on Friday that the winner of the White House “Healthy Communities Challenge” is Milwaukee.

Under the leadership of Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Chris Abele, about 38,000 people in the Milwaukee area newly selected a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace during this open enrollment period. Together with returning Marketplace consumers, about 89,000 people in the Milwaukee area selected a 2016 Marketplace plan. Altogether, participating communities saw over 1.6 million new enrollees, representing the people where were uninsured for years as well as Americans finding coverage as they go through changes in life such as being in between jobs, striking out as entrepreneurs, or aging off their parents' plans. Many more consumers renewed their previous Marketplace coverage.

Chicago, Ill.; Atlanta, Ga.; Detroit, Mich. and Oakland, Calif. rounded out the top five for the Challenge.

As the victorious community, Milwaukee receives bragging rights, a healthier community, and a visit from President Obama to celebrate their success in helping ensure Americans have health coverage. President Obama will visit Milwaukee in the coming weeks.

President Obama said, “I congratulate Milwaukee, and all of the other communities who took part in the challenge, for their passion and innovation in finding ways to make sure they and their neighbors could get the health care and peace of mind that they deserve. That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about. The efforts from mayors, local officials, assisters and residents remind me of what’s best in America, and what I see whenever I travel around the country: good people in strong communities who look out for each other and take care of their own. As always, Washington can learn a lot from the communities we represent.”

The White House announced the “Healthy Communities Challenge” to engage key communities with large numbers or high percentages of uninsured in states across the country. Based on particularly high opportunity for impact with strong federal, state and community collaboration, the White House reached out to local officials in each of these 20 communities to get their uninsured constituents covered. 

The lessons learned from every participating community will be invaluable in guiding enrollment efforts nationwide for years to come. Communities participating in the Healthy Communities Challenge utilized effective practices to increase enrollment during the open enrollment period. Below are just a few of the innovative tactics that participating communities used and that leaders across the country can adopt for future enrollment periods to make sure their constituents get covered.