Poll findings, health law messengers grab headlines

Dec 20 2013

Just as a new poll concludes that people with and without insurance disapprove of the health law at about the same rate, the Obama administration turns to its "top seller" to promote the overhaul.  

The New York Times: Uninsured Skeptical Of Health Care Law In Poll
Americans who lack medical coverage disapprove of President Obama's health care law at roughly the same rate as the insured, even though most say they struggle to pay for basic care, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. ... The widespread skepticism, even among people who are supposed to benefit from the law, underscores the political challenge facing the Obama administration as it tries to persuade millions of Americans to enroll in coverage through new online marketplaces (Goodnough and Kopicki, 12/18).

CBS News: Poll: Many Uninsured Haven't Explored Obamacare Options
More than two months after the health care exchanges opened, a new CBS News/New York Times poll reveals most uninsured Americans - 58 percent - say they have not looked up information about applying for insurance, while four in 10 have done that. Forty-nine percent of uninsured Americans who looked up information were able to get the information they needed, but about as many – 48 percent - were not (Dutton, De Pinto, Salvanto, 12/18).

Politico: Michelle Obama Steps Into Health Care Spotlight
President Barack Obama has struggled to sell his health care law this fall -; and until now, he's largely been without his top seller: first lady Michelle Obama. The first lady has done little to promote the Affordable Care Act in recent months, marking a shift from her usual role as the president's middle class messenger -; a move that allowed her to sidestep the political battles over the law, and questions about the administration's trustworthiness (Epstein, 12/18).

The Associated Press: First Lady Joins President's Push On Health Care
Mrs. Obama also was appearing on three African-American radio shows to encourage Americans to enroll. Minorities are less likely to have health insurance, so the administration has been targeting them in sign-up campaigns (Pickler, 12/18).

Bloomberg: Obama Eases Congress Health Care Jitters With House Vet
As Phil Schiliro arrived at his first meeting last week with House Democratic leaders to discuss selling Obamacare, he was greeted like family. … Schiliro met today with about a dozen Senate Democrats in a session organized by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (Bykowicz,12/18).

And what about "pajama boy" -

ABC News: Obamacare Hipster In PJs Lures Young, Healthy
Five days before the first major Obamacare enrollment deadline, it's an all-out battle to attract the young and healthy. Today Organizing for Action, President Obama's independent advocacy group, launched a social media blitz urging uninsured millennials to "have the talk" about health care. An image graphic -; featuring a young man wearing flannel, checkered pajamas -; circulated widely on Twitter and Facebook with the slogan, "Wear pajamas. Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance" (Dwyer, 12/18).

Fox News: Grapevine: Visions Of ObamaCare Dancing In Your Head?
ObamaCare architect Ezekiel Emanuel apparently was not joking when he told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" the government was about to launch a big PR campaign that he thought would get a lot of people to sign up. ... Well, as you would imagine, that inspired a slew of photoshopped memes and comments under the #PajamaBoy (Bream, 12/18).