While opponents of the Affordable Care Act are spending millions on ads misleading Americans about the law, the federal government and some states are crafting innovative campaigns for encouraging the uninsured to enroll in the health care exchanges — new marketplaces that will offer comprehensive health care coverage without discriminating against applicants on the basis of gender or pre-existing condition. Enrollment is scheduled to begin in October.
Oregon, which has long led the nation in health care innovation, is one of 17 states (plus the District of Columbia) that is running its own exchange. Called “Cover Oregon,” the exchange has produced two slick videos that aim to convince young people that maintaing health insurance coverage and staying healthy is an Oregonian value. Watch one of the ads below and the other one here.
All exchanges face the task of enrolling enough healthy people to balance out the cost of covering sicker individuals — and Oregon is clearly hoping to get ahead of that challenge. The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff notes that Cover Oregon is “spending $2.9 million on outreach work between now and October, much of which will go toward airing television spots like this one. Of its paid media budget, 45 percent is earmarked for television and cable spots.”
The state had garnered praise from health care advocates in May, when two Oregon private insurers vying to sell coverage in Cover Oregon lowered their opening bids for the plans’ monthly premiums after seeing a side-by-side comparison for all proposed policies.
Fifteen percent of Oregonians are currently unisured.