Ex-Obama officials launch group to sign people up for ObamaCare

Former Obama administration officials are launching an effort to sign people up for ObamaCare, saying they need to fill the gap left by the Trump administration’s cutbacks.

Lori Lodes and Joshua Peck, who oversaw enrollment efforts in the Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama, are launching the group called Get America Covered.

Organizers say the effort is needed because the Trump administration is trying to “sabotage” ObamaCare and is not stepping up to the plate on outreach efforts to help people enroll in coverage. The Trump HHS Department has announced that it is cutting funding for advertising by 90 percent and has also slashed funding to outside “navigator” groups that help people sign up for insurance.

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“If the administration was committed to making sure people had the information they needed to sign up for health care, we wouldn’t need to start Get America Covered,” Lodes said in a statement. “But people’s lives are at stake so everyone has to step up and fill whatever gaps they can so people get the health care they need.”

The effort is partnering with celebrities, including actors Bradley Whitford and Alyssa Milano, who will be trying to get the word out.

Organizers say that while they are doing what they can, they cannot completely fill the gap left by the administration’s cutbacks.

The effort will also buy digital ads targeted to uninsured people, though organizers say they do not have enough money for TV ads. The group will be raising money from online donations.

The group will try to emphasize that coverage is affordable and make people aware that the sign-up period is shorter this year than previously. The enrollment period runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.

Organizers will also work with local elected officials and businesses to try to get the word out.