Cosmopolitan magazine, Valerie Jarrett promote Obamacare by pushing free birth control

The Obama administration has found a new mouthpiece to raise awareness about the Affordable Care Act, a carefully placed article on Cosmopolitan.com, the online presence of the popular Cosmopolitan magazine, proved. And the women’s magazine is promoting the law by reminding young ladies they can get free birth control under Obamacare.

In an article titled “How Women Can Get Free Contraception,” Valerie Jarrett, a top Obama adviser, outlined her reasons why young women should enroll in the Affordable Care Act — namely that the law gives them access to free contraception.

“All insurance plans are required to cover contraception without a copay — for free. Free!” Jarrett told Cosmopolitan.com. “Women should talk to their insurance company about which brands are covered. And if your doctor thinks you need a particular brand but it’s not on your plan, then the insurance company has to cover that, too.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, employers are required to provide their workers with plans that cover contraception, including birth control and abortion-inducing drugs. The contraception mandate, the provision at the crux of this requirement, has come under fire, though, from religious groups arguing the law violates their religious principles. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled one of these groups, the Little Sisters of the Poor, did not have to adhere to the contraception mandate.

The article, designed to encourage young women, specifically, to purchase health insurance under Obamacare, strayed from the administration’s typical talking points. Jarrett left out the oft-repeated line that young people can stay under their parents’ health insurance plans until the age of 26 and didn’t mention that under the law, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against those with pre-existing condition.

Instead, Jarrett encouraged young women to convince men they know to register for Obamacare.

“And we know that women also have the ability to encourage the men in their lives, whether it’s brothers, sons, husbands, friends,” she said. “So women’s reach extends beyond themselves.”

Though many young people were greeted with a malfunctioning health insurance marketplace and “system failure” messages when the law rolled out in October, both Cosmopolitan.com and Jarrett encouraged women to give the exchange another shot. The Obama adviser particularly noted that Millennials’ participation was crucial, as its part of “what makes the exchanges work.”

However, Jarrett ignored the possibility of a death spiral, the phenomenon that occurs when too few young, healthy people receive coverage, causing the prices of premiums to skyrocket for all of those in the pool.

“As of the end of January, we’ve had 3.3 million people sign up for private plans,” Jarrett said. “That’s remarkable progress, but we are also being as creative as we can to spread the word, working with athletes, celebrities, insurance companies, and anyone else who has a platform that can reach young people who do not have health insurance.”

The Obama administration projected approximately 40 percent of whose who enrolled in Obamacare by March 31 would fall between the ages of 18 and 34. However, of the 3.3 million who signed up for private plans under the law, only 25 percent of those were Millennials.

In the run-up to the end of the open enrollment period, the White House has tried desperately to reach young people — as evidenced by Cosmopolitan.com’s article. The administration also tapped a host of Hollywood stars to back the law, including Adam Levine, Amy Poehler and Beyonce, though much to no avail.

Obama and his advisers attempted to drum up support by celebrating National Youth Enrollment Day on Feb. 15, though the federal exchange at healthcare.gov was closed for maintenance at the time.

“You get insurance for your car, your home, even your computer, so doesn’t it make sense to have the same insurance for your body? With six weeks to go [before the end of open enrollment], our top priority is to do everything possible to make sure everyone that needs it has access to quality, affordable health insurance,” Jarrett encouraged readers.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 55 percent of those who selected plans for the marketplace were female. The Obama administration has made an effort to target women, in particular, encouraging moms to sign their families up for health insurance under Obamacare.