'Get Covered America' campaign launched by nonprofit group

In an effort to sign up people for the new health coverage that will become available this fall, Enroll America is one of a number of organizations launching aggressive health law outreach campaigns.

The Washington Post: Groups Launch Multimillion Dollar Push To Promote Health-Care Law, Sign Up The Uninsured
The race is on to sign up uninsured Americans for health-care coverage this fall, with a number of large national advocacy groups launching aggressive, multimillion-dollar campaigns this summer aimed at promoting President Obama's health-care law. The groups are buying television ads, tapping social networks, training hundreds of new workers and volunteers and developing online and on-the-ground efforts akin to an enormous, months-long get-out-the-vote campaign. They aim to raise awareness in preparation for a big push leading up to open enrollment Oct. 1, when people can begin signing up for insurance plans and government subsidies available under the law (Somashekhar, 6/18).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Enroll America Launches Health-Insurance Push
The group will hold at least 50 events in 18 states over the next few days including a farmer's market in Austin, Texas, private homes in Florida and Tennessee, churches in New Jersey and Texas, at least one doctor's office in Delaware and an Irish pub in Cincinnati to discuss the health law and recruit additional volunteers to join in the effort. Events and door-to-door campaigning will continue throughout the summer. (Enroll America President Anne) Filipic side-stepped questions Tuesday about how much the group plans to spend on enrollment outreach efforts (Dooren, 6/18).

The Associated Press: Nonprofit Launches Campaign To Reach Uninsured
A nonprofit group helping to spread the word about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul launched a campaign Tuesday that will target states with high numbers of uninsured Americans and tackle their skepticism with straightforward messages. The "Get Covered America" campaign will include door-to-door visits by volunteers, brochures handed out at farmers markets and churches and, possibly, partnerships with sports leagues and celebrities, said Anne Filipic, a former White House official who recently became president of Enroll America, the group sponsoring the campaign (Johnson, 6/18).

Politico: Selling Of Obamacare Officially Begins
The nonprofit organization spearheading the effort to enroll Americans under President Barack Obama's health care law officially started Tuesday, with more than 50 events scheduled this week across the country in settings ranging from farmers' markets to churches. Enroll America, which is led by several former Obama campaign staffers, plans to target the uninsured in multiple ways: knocking on doors, advertising on television and radio and partnering with churches, civic groups, hospitals and celebrities (Haberkorn, 6/19).

Modern Healthcare: Enroll America Kicking Off Its ACA Push, But Hospitals And Insurers Have Their Own Campaigns
Hospitals and health insurers that will benefit from the new paying customers generated by next year's expansion of insurance coverage under the health reform law have moved quietly on their own to promote consumers' new options. The moves come after HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came under fire from Republicans in Congress, who have questioned whether she solicited firms and institutions regulated by her department to contribute money to Enroll America, the privately organized not-for-profit that is working to build public awareness about the new law (Zigmond and Landen, 6/18).

CQ HealthBeat: Enroll America Campaign Launch Lacks Enrollment Projections
Earlier this year, it became apparent that the Obama administration would fall a billion dollars short of the resources it needed to sign up the uninsured under the health law. Now, with the launch Tuesday of a private sector enrollment campaign that administration officials hoped would pick up the slack, there are questions about how effective that effort will be as well (Reichard, 6/18).

Health News Florida: Tampa 1^st To Launch 'Get Covered'
A national movement to find the uninsured and get them plugged into benefits under the Affordable Care Act kicked off Tuesday night at a house party in Tampa. The Harbour Island get-together, which attracted about 30 volunteers, was the first official event in the nation for Get Covered, America, organizers said. Other Get Covered events are scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix, Ariz., and Austin, Texas. The official launch of the enrollment effort is Saturday (Gentry, 6/19).

Politico: White House Seeks NBA Assist On Obamacare
Could LeBron James be the next spokesman for Obamacare? The Obama administration has reached out to the NBA about a potential marketing partnership to promote the health law, POLITICO has learned (Cheney, 6/19).