'I'm not the Obamacare kid anymore'

cnn.com ^ | 03/21/2016 | John Blake

[massmike]

Sometimes it's hard to be what you want to be when people only know you for what you used to be.

This is the challenge facing Marcelas Owens, who just turned 17. For much of life, people have only known Marcelas as the "Obamacare kid."

He was the chubby 11-year-old African-American boy who stood next to President Barack Obama as he signed Obamacare into law at a White House ceremony on March 23, 2010. He was the miniature health care activist in the black vest dwarfed by powerful lawmakers in a famous photo of that moment. He was a modern-day Peter Pan, perpetually frozen in childhood even as the news cycle moved on.

But so has Marcelas. As supporters prepare to mark the sixth anniversary of Obamacare's signing, Marcelas is marking another rite of passage -- as a transgender teen. After years of questions, she is starting to tell family and friends what she has long known: Though born male, she's long identified as a female.

Marcelas is also starting to consider hormone therapy and other options. Obamacare prohibits insurers from denying coverage to transgender people on the basis of their identity. The Obama administration ended a 33-year ban on Medicare coverage for gender reassignment surgery in 2014.

[metmom]

Not surprised. It was probably a set up from the get go, or he’s just being an opportunist.

[Recompennation]

My first take on the picture was wherd dey git de Gary Coleman look alike?!