New ad campaigns compete over Obamacare enrollment

The Obama administration and its opponents in implementing the health law are readying to launch ad campaigns aimed at getting people to sign up for or stay away from new online health insurance exchanges that open Oct. 1. Many of the ads are airing in swing states, but they are also aimed at the young and uninsured in California and Texas who are uninsured in the largest numbers.

The New York Times: Ad Campaigns Compete As Health Law Rollout Looms 
Starting this week, the White House will kick off a six-month campaign to persuade millions of uninsured Americans to sign up for health coverage as part of insurance marketplaces that open for business on Oct. 1. If too few people enroll, the centerpiece of the president's Affordable Care Act could collapse. But instead of offering the kind of grudging cooperation that normally follows even the most bitter of legislative battles, Mr. Obama's foes have intensified their opposition, trying to deepen the nation's anger about the health insurance program, which both sides often call Obamacare. Across the country, Republicans are eager to prevent people from enrolling, fearing that once people begin receiving the benefit they will be loath to give it up (Shear, 9/21).

Los Angeles Times: Obama Looks To Hollywood To Help Promote His Healthcare Law
Wedged into the blotter on Mike Farah's desk at the Funny or Die studios in Hollywood is an index card with a list -- wrangling talent, polishing scripts and arranging shoots -- long enough to keep the comedy website executive fully occupied. But these tasks are part of a different quest: the campaign to ensure the success of President Obama's health care law (Reston, 9/20).

The Wall Street Journal: Ad Blitz Aims To Shift Views Of Health Law 
Both sides are trying to shape perceptions. A majority of Americans say they don't understand the law. Meanwhile, it has taken center stage in continued political bickering over the federal budget and the national debt ceiling. Political groups have spent roughly $500 million since the law passed in March 2010 either denouncing or defending the new law, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking unit of WPP PLC. A majority of that spending was on ads opposing the law. The ads also have mostly been airing in political swing states like Ohio and Virginia. Supporters of the law have been focusing their efforts on states like California and Texas, which have a large population of young, uninsured people (Schatz, 9/21).

CBS News: Campaign To Help Californians Understand Obamacare
As enrollment is soon to begin to get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, many still do not know where to get it and how much it costs. California has invested in a $45 million ad campaign to help people understand how Obamacare will affect them (Evans, 9/21).