Administration eyes 'the big dance' as opportunity to sell Obamacare health plans

Officials will launch a marketing campaign in conjunction with the NCAA college basketball tournaments -- events they view as offering great potential for reaching young people and urging them to get health insurance.  

USA Today: Obama Team Uses March Madness To Sell Health Care Plan
For the Obama administration, March Madness is another chance to press young people -- particularly young men -- to sign up for health care. Health care officials are launching a new marketing campaign wrapped around the NCAA men's and women's college basketball tournaments that start this week. Starting Monday, Obama, some of his aides and celebrity athletes who back the health care plan will conduct interviews, make public service ads and use social media appeals as a key deadline looms on March 31 (Jackson, 3/16).

Politico: Obamacare Meets March Madness
With the arrival of college basketball's March Madness, the White House is looking to capitalize on the annual tournament to encourage Americans to enroll in Obamacare. The promotional effort will include athletes and coaches as well as administration officials, according to CNN, and will begin on Monday. Sunday was "Selection Sunday," the day the teams in the tournament are announced and the schedule and bracket are released (Kopan, 3/17). 

CNN: White House To Begin Obamacare March Madness Monday
As hoop heads across the country prepare for the Big Dance, President Barack Obama's administration is banking on a new March Madness-focused campaign to help boost Obamacare enrollment. To coincide with the start of NCAA basketball tournament, a White House official says the administration is launching an all-encompassing push around the annual basketball bonanza that will feature athletes, coaches, and others, in hopes of spurring more Americans to sign up for health care before the March 31 deadline. According to the official, the effort starts in earnest Monday morning when Univision Radio's Locura Deportiva airs an interview with President Obama (Acosta and Seher, 3/17).