Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obama Uses A Selfie Stick To Plug The Health Law's Fast-Approaching Sign-Up Deadline
President Barack Obama used a 鈥渟elfie stick鈥 and riffed on the popular 鈥淭hanks Obama鈥 Internet meme to plug the latest health-care signup deadline in a new video posted by BuzzFeed. In a 鈥淭hings Everybody Does But Doesn鈥檛 Talk About鈥 video for the social news and entertainment website, Mr. Obama took a photo of himself using a 鈥渟elfie stick鈥 device and an iPhone. He also muttered 鈥淭hanks Obama鈥 when his cookie was too large to fit in a glass of milk 鈥 citing an Internet meme where trivial, everyday indignities are blamed on him. He concludes the video with 鈥淵OLO,鈥 short for 鈥測ou only live once.鈥 (Tau, 2/12)
President Barack Obama made a comic online video 鈥 complete with silly faces and several shots with a selfie stick 鈥 that reminds Americans that they only have through Sunday to sign up this year for Obamacare. A BuzzFeed video released Thursday shows the commander-in-chief speaking and checking himself out in front of a mirror, practicing his messaging that people should go to HealthCare.gov by Feb. 15 to get covered. ..After an appearance on 鈥淭he Colbert Report鈥 early in this year鈥檚 health law sign-up season, the president has been pretty low key about enrollment. This video 鈥 a follow-up perhaps to last year鈥檚 deadpan 鈥淏etween Two Ferns鈥 appearance with Zach Galifianakis 鈥 is the latest youth-focused effort on the part of the administration to boost sign-ups before the open enrollment period closes at midnight Pacific time Sunday. (Pradhan, 2/12)
President Obama has made it abundantly clear that he will do almost anything to make sure the Affordable Care Act is a success. The latest example came on Thursday, with the release of a video produced by BuzzFeed showing him playing with a 鈥渟elfie stick,鈥 admiring himself in sunglasses, and practicing his jump shot alone in his office. Without a ball. Why would the commander in chief go through such humiliation? To remind people that they need to sign up for health insurance. (2/12)