Guess you could consider it a type of Black Friday shopping…
The Health and Human Services Department is trying to stir up interest in Obamacare enrollment by bringing it to the people where they know they will be — Black Friday sales at the mall.
The department announced new partnerships with retail stores, pharmacies and a collection of popular website Wednesday, Politico reported. They will be using these partnerships to spread the word about the current enrollment season, which is shorter than last year and collides with the holiday season.
On three key days after Thanksgiving — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — Westfield Shopping Centers, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the XO Group will provide consumers with information about how they can sign up for coverage through the exchanges, according to Politico.
Westfield malls inFlorida, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Washington will let enrollment workers hand out fliers and do outreach work to get people to enroll.The XO Group, which owns popular websites like The Knot and The Bump, will use its sites to reach women who might be considering a new health insurance plan to go along with their upcoming life change. And the pharmacists association will held guide consumers through the process and be able to answer questions.
Last year, Obamacare had more time to grow on the public and HHS mostly relied on celebrities to spread the word. While they are still working with high-profile influencers, this year they don’t have that luxury if they want to convince an increasingly mistrustful populace to sign up.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell told Politico that the Obama administration was excited about the three partnerships and their potential for reaching Americans, “whether consumers are shopping at a mall, online or at their community pharmacy.”
