LOS
ANGELES, Calif. (December 12, 2013) — To raise awareness among the 35 million
Americans who gain access to affordable health insurance starting January 1, Covered
California, Access Health CT, the state marketplaces for the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act in California, Connecticut, and Enroll
America announced today the Tell A Friend – Get Covered campaign
- an initiative led in partnership with state-based health exchanges, and
national partners.
“We
want to use this event to tap into California’s richest natural resources, the
creative entertainment sector and social media, to support health care coverage
here and across the nation by educating about health care and most importantly encouraging
them to get covered.” said Peter V. Lee, Executive Director of Covered
California. “This initiative is about friends telling friends to get covered,
whether you tell 50, 500 or 5 million friends – we hope through this campaign
to have more than 100 million contacts encouraging people to get coverage.”
“We’ve
seen first-hand how life-changing affordable, comprehensive health insurance
can be for American families,” said Anne Filipic, President of Enroll America.
“That’s why we’re thrilled to join the Tell A Friend – Get Covered campaign,
which will kick start conversations about health insurance that our hundreds of
staff and thousands of volunteers will continue in communities across the
country; together, we’ll make sure consumers have the information they need to
get the coverage that is right for them.”
The
Tell
A Friend – Get Covered campaign aims to increase awareness and
understanding of the options available in each state for health care coverage. Starting
on December 12th, entertainment leaders, such as Tatyana Ali, Fran
Drescher, Armando Christian “Pitbull” Perez, Iman “AlphaCat” Crosson, and top
digital stars partnered with Maker Studios, the world’s largest provider of
online video content for millennials, and many more have committed to make
ongoing outreach to their fans and followers because they recognize the
importance this can have in their lives. “Telling about the importance of
getting covered is happening today in towns across Kentucky,” said Miriam
Fordham, Kynect’s Director of Policy for the Kentucky Exchange. “Tell
A Friend – Get Covered is a way to engage all Americans in the effort
to make sure that their friends, family and neighbors get health care.”
In
addition to the ongoing communication and original digital content that will be
released on a weekly basis, on January 16th, there will be an 8-hour
live-streamed event with segments ranging in length and topic but will cover
issues of healthy living such as financial risks of being uninsured, prevention,
healthy eating and much more. The event and continuing content is being
produced by Maker Studios in Los Angeles, a producer and distributor of online
content.
“Like
we say at Cancer Schmancer, ‘Take control of your body.’ That's why I support
Obamacare.” said Fran Drescher. “Sign up and tell all your friends to sign up,
too.”
The
January event will be streamed live throughout the day on YouTube and a
microsite (www.tellafriendgetcovered.com) that viewers can visit to obtain
additional information on living healthier and options for getting covered. The
event will include interviews, performances, and more from a range of
personalities and stories of people directly benefited by the Affordable Care
Act. After January 16, the Tell A Friend – Get Covered campaign
will continue to engage with consumers to encourage them to enroll in coverage
before the end of open enrollment on March 31st.
About Tell A Friend – Get Covered
The Tell A Friend – Get Covered
campaign is a national collaboration coordinated by state health exchanges, led
by Covered California, along with national partners including Enroll America, with
a goal of educating the nation about the importance of getting covered. The campaign
will engage celebrities, athletes, musicians, social media creators and
individuals who want to tell their friends to spread the word about how to get
insurance coverage. The campaign will
include an 8-hour, live-streamed event on January 16 that will
include stories, tips, helpful information and other details related to
national health care options. The event will feature a number of celebrities,
experts and individuals who can share their personal stories to promote healthy
living and lifestyle choices so they can share their stories and encourage
others to get covered. The campaign will culminate in March but ongoing content
will be distributed starting in December through the end of the campaign to
raise awareness about health care and how to get covered.
