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HEALTH FROM PAGE 3 other Internet traffic. For example, Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, People magazine’s “sexiest man alive” for 2013, urged his followers on Twitter to get coverage. Since launching the program, the White House has benefited from celebrity support as it attempts to draw a crowd — Amy Poehler and Lady Gaga are among the actors, comedians and musicians who have pushed the overhaul. Fran Drescher and Kal Penn are among the Hollywood talent expected to lend a hand in the “Tell a Friend” campaign. The latest marketing strategy comes after a troubled two months for the national overhaul — sign-ups have lagged and the disastrous launch of the federal government’s website was blamed for dampening enrollments. The Health and Human Services Department reported Wednesday that 364,682 people had signed up for private coverage under the law as of Nov. 30. That is more than three times the October figure but still less than one-third of the 1.2 million that officials had projected would enroll nationwide by the end of November. The administration’s overall goal was to sign up 7 million people by next March 31, when open enrollment ends. People face a Dec. 23 deadline to sign up if they are to have coverage by New Year’s. California, the nation’s most populous state
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013
Struggling with a Problem?
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with about 38 million residents, runs its own exchange and led the nation with 107,087 sign-ups. Largely at issue is luring young, healthy people needed to make the overhaul financially viable. Premiums paid by the younger and healthier group, between 18 and 35, are needed by insurance companies to offset the cost of carrying older and sicker customers who typically generate more in medical bills than they contribute in premiums. Lee said Covered California will cover most of the campaign’s expenses, although the total has not been finalized. He estimated it would amount to a small fraction of the agency’s marketing budget; Covered California expects to spend over $200 million on television and online ads, billboards, door-to-door visits and other sales pitches and promotions to convince people to enroll. The campaign’s website features videos, aimed at younger adults, that urge individuals to seek coverage. In one, a mountain biker is seen crashing on a trail, then clutching his arm. In another, set to rap-style music, Obama impersonator Iman Crosson dances and tells viewers, “If you choose it, just use it, they can’t refuse it, no pre-existing condition could ever make you lose it. So tell a friend or a random guy, I’ve got a game-changer right here that saves lives.” Both videos rely on only generalities about the law, and neither mentions specifics about the cost.
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