SINGING TO THE MASSES, OFF KEY OF COURSE!!!
WASHINGTON -- With precious time remaining before the health care exchanges established by the president's health care law are up and running, the Obama administration is rolling out new initiatives to encourage enrollment.
The latest of these is set to be unveiled on Monday, when the Department of Health and Human Services will debut a video contest -- complete with cash prizes -- designed to persuade younger consumers to get insurance.
The administration will partner with Young Invincibles, a non-profit youth issues organization, to run the contest, with the goal of reaching those younger Americans who are skeptical of the need for health coverage.
Participants will be encouraged to submit three different types of videos advertising the benefits of the exchanges: a song, an animated short, or a video designed to convince viewers that they aren't invincible. Using funds from the Affordable Care Act's education and outreach budget, HHS will award $3,000 each to the creators of the three most popular and persuasive videos, while second and third place winners will get $2,500 each.
“Educating young people about new coverage options requires an all-hands-on-deck approach," Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will say Monday during a speech at a Young Invincibles conference in Houston, according to advanced remarks provided to The Huffington Post. "For millions of young people, health insurance hasn’t been an option because it’s always been out of reach—because it costs too much, or isn’t offered through a job."
The contest is designed to dispel the notion that even young and healthy individuals would be better off simply not purchasing health insurance. It may seem like an odd choice of battlegrounds. But attracting the young demographic is key to the effectiveness of the exchanges, providing insurers with the type of low-risk customers that will help lower premiums across the board. It's no coincidence that many conservative opponents of the Affordable Care Act are actively urging young people to skip the exchanges altogether, even though doing so would mean incurring the tax penalty for not having insurance coverage.
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