Obama pitches health coverage on 'funny or die' show

The president appeared on an edgy internet comedy show called, "Between Two Ferns," to urge young people to sign up for health insurance before open enrollment ends on March 31.

NPR: March Marks A Crucible For Obamacare As Deadline Nears
Facing a deadline, the Obama administration is desperate to boost enrollment in health care exchanges. Still millions from their goal, they're stepping up outreach and forgetting politics -; for now (Liasson, 3/11).

Reuters: Obama Takes Health Plan Pitch To Edgy Comedy Show
President Barack Obama took his quest to sign young people up for health insurance to a comedy website on Tuesday, where he traded insults with host Zach Galifianakis while plugging his signature Obamacare health program. Obama sat for an interview on "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis," on the Funny or Die comedy website (Felsenthal, 3/11).

CNN: No Joke: Obama Interviewed By Zach Galifianakis
President Obama took his message of health care for all to a cult internet comedy show in an effort to get young people to sign up for Obamacare. He appeared alongside Zach Galifianakis in the comedian and actor's mock talk-show called "Between Two Ferns." The interview with the president was recorded last month and posted Tuesday morning on the popular website "Funny or Die" (Hoye, 3/11).

Politico: White House: 'Funny Or Die' Generating Record Referrals To ACA Site
President Barack Obama's sit-down with Zach Galifianakis led to a spike in traffic to HealthCare.gov on Tuesday, the administration said, as it touted the effectiveness of the president's latest effort to reach out to young adults. As of 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, the website had racked up more than 19,000 referral visits from Obama's "Between Two Ferns" video for Funny or Die, which was posted around 7 a.m., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services spokesman Aaron Albright said (Epstein, 3/12).

McClatchy: Comedian In Chief? President Obama Pitches Health Care On Funny Or Die
President Obama traded barbs with Zach Galifianakis on the comedian's 'Funny or Die' show "Between Two Ferns" in a bid to convince young invincibles to sign up for health care. Galifianakis posed a few questions to Obama, including "What should we do about North Ikea" before giving Obama a chance to tout healthcare.gov. "Let's get this out of the way," Galifianakis sighs. "What'd you come here to plug?" As Obama launches into his pitch -- that young people can get health care "for what it costs you to pay your cell phone bill" -- Galifianakis rolls his eyes (Clark, 3/11).

Fox News: White House Defends Obama's Snarky Interview With Zach Galifianakis
The White House is defending President Obama's snarky appearance on comedian Zach Galifianakis' mock-interview show "Between Two Ferns," touting it as a creative, effective way to promote ObamaCare to young adults. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney claimed Tuesday that the video was the "number one referral" to HealthCare.gov the morning it was released online. He said he believes the "viral" video will be a big factor in getting young people to visit the website and explore coverage.  Asked whether Obama's appearance on the "show" was beneath the office of the president, Carney said he did not think so, saying "we made the right call here" (3/11).

PBS NewsHour: Deadline Approaching, Obama Administration Takes Creative Approach To Push ACA Enrollment
The Obama administration is getting creative in an intense push to accelerate enrollment in health care, especially among younger adults and Latinos, who trail almost every other demographic group in signing up. Judy Woodruff talks to Politico's Joanne Kenen and Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation about the "hard sell" ahead of the March 31 deadline (Woodruff, 3/11).