“Taking it in the Shorts”: Obama Steps up Marketing Campaign as Ocare Continues its Slow Death Spiral

Nothing like getting a mailer or seeing an add for a product that is going to cost you more each year while seeing the available usage decrease

(Forbes) The Obama administration is rolling out a new and broader marketing strategy to get more Americans to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, taking to Instagram and sending millions more Americans direct mail.

The Obamacare marketing effort will include more than 10 million pieces of direct mail, a huge increase from 800,000 Americans targeted by mail last year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency rolling out the law. In addition, a social media campaign will, for the first time, include images and video ads on Instagram to target millennials.

Would this be necessary if the law passed solely by Democrats was working well?

Ads promoting health coverage will move beyond traditional television and radio to social media and gaming platforms like Twitch. Ads and videos on YouTube and Facebook will also be used as they have been in the past.

As if the ads already on those sites weren’t annoying enough as it is.

Most of those who are losing coverage will have other choices. The Obama administration is confident it can build on the more than 11 million Americans who had coverage via the healthcare marketplace earlier this year by using “smarter targeting and new tactics,” Kevin Counihan, the CEO of HealthCare.gov said last week. “I’m confident our outreach campaign will give more consumers the information they need and help us continue our historic progress in reducing the number of uninsured.”

The problem here is that the law was originally deemed as being the solution to the 30-45 million Americans without health insurance. Even the scaled back 20 million number is still not being hit, all while the government spends tons of taxpayer money, even though we were told it would be “revenue neutral”. Everyone having affordable health insurance that can be used without paying through the nose is a good idea. Unfortunately, the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act fails.

An S&P forecast predicts that Ocare participation will shrink by 8%. I wonder if the flyers and ads will remind consumers that they could face penalties simply for being Americans without insurance? Remember, 1.4 million Obamacare participants are going to lose the plans they previously signed up for via Ocare.

Meanwhile, in the People’s Republik Of California, which utterly embraced Ocare, even the SF Chronicle can’t whitewash this turd of a law

1.4 million enrollees get some federal aid to help cover the cost of their premiums. The increases will be felt most acutely by those policyholders who make too much money to qualify for those subsidies. These are self-employed people or those who otherwise don’t get health insurance through their employers.

“I was in favor of Obamacare,” said Ted Weinstein, a self-employed literary agent in San Francisco, referring to the Affordable Care Act. “Now I’m taking it in the shorts with a 27 percent rate increase (next) year.”

Good thing this is saving families $2500 a year, ya know!