Rubio objects to ACA ad plans

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Political AdvertisingThe US Department of Health and Human Services is planning to buy ads in 16 selected metropolitan areas designed to educate citizens about the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Mark Rubio (R-FL) objects.


The value of the buy is $8.7M. According to a report in TalkingPointsMemo, $200K has already been placed in three of the markets.

Included in the buy are:
* Atlanta GA
* Brownsville TX
* Charlotte NC
* Harlingen TX
* Houston TX
* Indianapolis IN
* Jacksonville FL
* Nashville TN
* New Orleans LA
* Oklahoma City OK
* Orlando FL
* Philadelphia PA
* Phoenix AZ
* Pittsburgh PA
* St. Louis MO
* Tampa FL

The small total amount spent on early placements are said to have gone to Brownsville, Tamps and Nashville.
Rubio said, “Until critical questions can be answered regarding the availability and type of health insurance to be provided by ObamaCare, it is unconscionable to spend taxpayer dollars to promote and advertiser ObamaCare programs that have yet to be finalized. While the Administration should be abandoning this disastrous law, instead it is imprudently and blindly promoting poor policies that will harm Americans and American businesses, and misappropriating public funds in an effort to sell bad ideas to good people.”

RBR-TVBR observation: There is nothing wrong with advertising by elements of the government. There are times when messages need to go out to citizens, and as broadcasters well know, advertising over the air is perhaps the most effective way to get the job done.

There are times to object to government advertising on the public dime – that’s when an agency sends out a message to influence opinion prior to a legislative or regulatory event.

That simply is not the case with ACA/Obamacare. The fact is that ACA is the law of the land, and citizens need to know how it works and if they are qualified to participate.

People may remember that this same sort of thing happened during the administration of George W. Bush. The difference is that when the administration is in the hands of the Republican Party, it is Democrats on the Hill who complain.