Mr. President: We are young but we are not stupid

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The White House is desperate to sign up Millennials for Obamacare. With the March 31 enrollment deadline closing fast, the latest figures show that only 22 percent of the Obamacare sign-ups are between ages 18 and 34. That’s a far cry from the 40 percent that the White House wants.

Blame the Obamacare marketing team. Since the exchanges launched in October, the team’s attempts to persuade us to sign up have been inappropriate, incoherent and simply insulting.

The list of examples is long and painful, but the “Brosurance” ads, which have gone viral across the country, are the most famous flop by far. In print and social media, these ads paint the picture of Millennials as drunks and dolts.

One ad shows three young men — “bros” — doing a keg stand. Its tagline: “Don’t tap into your beer money to cover those medical bills.” Another tries to link flu shots to liquor shots. The worst ad shows a guy and a girl about to hook up. It reads, “I hope he’s as easy to get as this birth control.”

This insulted more Millennials than it convinced. The spots ultimately reached a huge portion of the youth market, but only because the outrage was so intense that the ads were lampooned on national television. When Comedy Central showed the ads to a group of 20-somethings, every last one expressed disgust and disappointment.

Those same Millennials were likely left scratching their heads at some of the White House’s other marketing ploys.

Take the recent Magic Johnson ad, for instance. It was clearly made by someone who doesn’t understand anyone younger than 30. Most Millennials don’t even know who Magic Johnson is. He retired in 1991. Today’s college students were all born after that, meaning they couldn’t tell you if he played baseball, basketball, or maybe cricket.

Other ads have drawn scorn and ridicule. The “pajama boy” social media campaign led to scathing responses from the media for making Millennials look self-absorbed and annoying. The “Mom jeans” campaign tried, and failed, to link health coverage with awkward-fitting pants. The case for health care had never been less clear.

One of the administration’s allies, Get Covered America, took the confusion a step further. It created a two-minute original song featuring singing cats, dogs, and birds. Intended to spark a nationwide increase in enrollments, the ad was greeted by silence, receiving only 60,000 views on YouTube.

Given such pitiful attempts at reaching the young and the healthy, it’s no surprise that Millennials haven’t responded by signing up for Obamacare in droves. In reality, it’s too expensive for too many Millennials — and none of the marketing campaigns have been slick enough to bury this fact.

Obamacare leaves the average 27 year old facing a gender-averaged 47.5 percent premium increase, according to Forbes. Even after subsidies, that’s an expense that many Millennials can’t afford.

Perversely, such high costs make it even harder for us to purchase health insurance in the future, when we can afford it. By not signing up for expensive plans now, insurance rates will increase as soon as next year — for everyone. That leaves us with two choices: Buy an unaffordable plan now, or wait and buy an unaffordable plan later.

Our only remaining option is to opt out of Obamacare entirely. If the latest numbers are any indication, that’s exactly what Millennials are doing. We know a bad deal when we see one —and we’re not as dumb as Obamacare’s marketers seem to think.

Evan Feinberg is the President of Generation Opportunity.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. It’s really bad when the failed web site cost the taxpayers over 640 million. That comes out to 2 million per American. That would have made a helluva HSA account for each one of us.

    • American population is around 317 million round it to 320 million.

      640 million divided by 320 million is about TWO DOLLARS per person.

      The Cruznutty government shutdown cost $24BILLION.

      Conservatives SUCK at math.

      Good luck with your $2 HSA.

    • Hoyt, there’s no excuse for this post. You really should know that there are more than 320 people in the US. You should also know that 2 million times 320 is 640 million. I know, you probably took a Republican’s word for it.

  2. When the youth say they are young and stupid they did not need the ads to figure out the sham, scam and boondoggle that is the ACA. While Common Core has yet to diminish the math skills of our youth, they can still add and it takes no graduate from the Jethro Bodine School of Mathematics to know naught times naught still equals naught, even if you carry the naught and are screwed anyway.

  3. Verify by DOXENS of media outlets as a

    TOTAL AND COMPLETE LIE.

    Let me repeat for you conners so you get it.

    This ad is a COMPLETE LIE.

    But of course the people in Florida bought it
    hook, line and sinker.

    Julie Boonstra was confronted with the facts and STILL
    DENIED it. Why? Because she was told by republican/conservative authority figures that Obamacare was bad. She never bothered to check the facts.

    Besides Alex Sink being a horrible candidate, this was enought to shift the whole election, based upon a LIE.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=besfLiKone8

    • Well if you want to talk about lies I could turn this into a very long post but I will spare the readers. But we know it is OK for Democrats to lie but shame on Republicans if they do the same. Your intellectual honesty has no correlation to your moniker.

      You want me to believe some guy making a video knows more about Julie’s personal finances and insurance needs than she does, that isn’t going to happen. Is her accounting correct? I don’t know and if you were completely honest, neither do your or that video guy.

      But lets put the other lying foot on for a short while. Lets start with the bugaboo people could be willy-nilly dropped by an insurance company prior to the ACA;

      http://www.nationalreview.com/article/369891/aca-train-wreck-and-lie-jeffrey-singer

      And let me give just one little quote;

      “And so, for the past 18 years, all insurance companies have been legally forbidden from dropping an individual policyholder who developed a chronic illness and have not been able to raise anyone’s rate because of it.”

      So there is one lie by Obama and Democrats. I could list more but I don’t think you interested in intellectual honesty.

  4. Millennials who might buy Obamacare can do math. Yes you might be able to get a fully subsidized plan for 150 to 200 bucks a month. Sounds great.

    Until you realize that it probably has a $4,000 deductible before the plan pays a dime. Now if you got sick you are about 6,000 bucks into it before you get any benefit.

    So, if you don’t have 6,000 bucks in the bank, you might as well be uninsured.

      • Please change your screen name Benton. It is clear buy your responses and your apparent denial of provided facts here that you are quite “brainless” . If that weren’t the case, something would have sunk in by now.

        P.S. All you little video postings don’t prove your baseless claims anymore than your typing out your leftist hogwash.

        • Obviously you did NOT watch the video nor read my post as numerous media outlets not just the one posted have backe up the fact that JULIE IS LYING.

      • Before the ACA I paid less premium for a lower deductible. That’s the difference.

    • Your numbers are close but depends on which plan is chosen. This graph shows coverage of each plan; http://www.healthpocket.com/obamacare/obamacare-insurance-metal-plans#.Uybx54VOqNk .

      And this gives some specific costs which I take to be reasonably accurate; http://www.valuepenguin.com/ppaca/exchanges/in , just plugin some numbers. For some reason if I click on the Platinum it shows a thread instead of numbers, don’t know whats up with that.

      It *must* be noted here I have no clue about the accuracy of those numbers since you have to go through the guberment website to enroll and it may very will tell you something completely different and that would not surprise me with the Monty Python-esque way this whole train wreck continues to lurch along.

    • You really ought to go to kff.org and run a few hypotheticals before you sound off, because you don’t know much about how ACA works. You’re peddling lies when you talk about the deductible. Plenty of young people get Silver plans for less than $50/month. You are also overlooking the fact that a yearly physical is available at NO COST, as are two visits to the Dr.

  5. If this law is so great how come the administration keeps having to try and sell it? Why aren’t people signing up in droves?

    • No kidding. I read this morning they are going to be advertising for ObamaCare during the NCAA basketball games. We can’t be far from an McACA drink cup at McDonald’s to try and make up for the WHOPPER the president told to get everyone to deserve a break today.

      • I can’t resist. Keep it going readers.

        You deserve a break today
        So get yourself some ACA
        at McDonald’s

        Gimme a Break
        Gimme a Break
        Break me off a piece of that healthcare law.

        • touche’ editor

          “Two obese patties, special votes, Let us Choose, picking policies on a special website!”

          • You’re in good hands with aca………………unless of course you need a doctor or a hospital…………….

            .

          • “We Are The Taxpayers”

            I’ve paid my penalty
            Time after time.
            I’ve done my enrollment
            But committed no crime.
            And bad mistakes ‒
            I’ve made a few.
            I’ve had my share of unemployment staring at my face
            But I’ve come through.

            (And I need just go on and on, and on, and on)

            We are the tax payers, my friends,
            And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end.
            We are the tax payers.
            We are the tax payers.
            No time for losers
            ‘Cause we are the tax payers of the ACA.

            I’ve taken my meds
            And my Obama’s advice
            You brought me poverty and pain and everything that goes with it
            I thank you Obama

            But it’s been no bed of roses,
            No pleasure cruise.
            I consider it a challenge before the chosen one
            And I ain’t gonna win.

            (And I need just go on and on, and on, and on)

            We are the tax payers, my friends,
            And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end.
            We are the tax payers.
            We are the tax payers.
            No time for losers
            ‘Cause we are the tax payers of the ACA.

            We are the tax payers, my friends,
            And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end.
            We are the tax payers.
            We are the tax payers.
            No time for losers
            ‘Cause we are the tax payers.

            • You just entered the CCO hall of fame for parody songs with this one. Thumb’s up. “We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel would make an excellent target too.

    • Ummmm maybe because the entire republican party, republican pundits, and republican propoganda machine has spent the last 3-4 years telling lie after lie after lie about the program??

      Go to factcheck or politifact and do a search on Obamcare and get back to me on the HUNDREDS of pants on fire lies being told about the ACA.

      Maybe because like this publication not one positive article has been posted about the ACA even though hundreds of opportunities exist.

      You’re like the terrorist who blew up the dam and then asked why the engineer didn’t build the dam better?

      Are you like Betty in Spokan who refused to go to “that man’s” website?

      Or like Julie Boonstra who just accepted what authority figures told her that Obamacare would cost her money? Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

      I’ll repeat man you guys are DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMB.

      Is it true that in November when the ACA exchanges were being rolled out that ONE THIRD of Hoosiers thought that:
      A) exchanges were not available in Indiana
      B) the exchanges were illegal in Indiana
      C) The ACA had been repealed
      D) That the ACA had been struck down by SCOTUS.
      E) It would be more expensive

      Yep undermine it, lie about it bad mouth it and then ask why it needs to be promoted!!!!!

      Nobody has more unmitigated gall than a conner.

      • You sound like the Yugoslavians blaming Toyota for the failures of the Yugo. Yugo made a POS and people figured it out. They went out of business. ObamaCare is no different. If it had worked the way old lying lips said it would the dems would be ruling the world today. Instead it is the lemon that won’t go away and even the dems are running from it like it was godzilla. Talking about DUUUUUMB.

  7. Why does the law need to be promoted????

    Well Indiana HOSTILE to the ACA has reached 47% of its private exchange goal while Kentucky which has been largely supportive has reached 78% of its private exchange goal.

    http://acasignups.net/spreadsheet

    Truth!
    Overheard at the Kentucky state fair at a KYNECT(Obamacare) booth. “Man these plans are lot better than Obamacare”.

    Hey dude it IS Obamacare.

  8. Charles Gabba just increased his 03/31/2014 exchange enrollment forecast from 5.5M to 6.1M. Gabba says most of the people who got their catastrosphic plans cancelled have been moved to equal or better plans and the December surge was mostly older sicker enrollees so this latest surge is mostly young people. In other words the author was just a tad off on his prediction, like from here to Jupiter off.

    A massive weekend enrollment thanks to the “two ferns” appearance. Your faux outrage just sent even more people to the website. Serves you conners right.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnW3xkHxIEQ

    • Send link please. We will post. I just Googled Charles Gabba and got nothing even remotely connected to ACA.

        • Thanks. Looks like he is confident that 5M signups will be hit today or tomorrow but concedes that 20% have paid making the real number 4 Million. Did I read something wrong.

          • You mean 80% paid, and 20% unpaid.

            Gaba is going with an 85% pay ratio and if you keep reading many of the unpaid pct have not yet reached their first payment due, many are having their payment misplaced or applied by the insurance companies.

            Gaba says that the industry unpaid average is 1-2% and is predicting a 5% final unpaid average for the ACA. Some states are going to have open enrollment which means 6 mil by 03/31 and 7 million paying customers by Memorial day looks like a solid forecast.

            • Correct. I did the math right but the words wrong. I even agree with your last sentence. There is one uncertainty that we have to watch playout and that is the scenario of ACA signups who are now exempt from penalties or can recapture their previous insurance due to the group of delays. It is too soon to know what the cancellation effect may be due to those things.

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