The holiday season is upon us, and the genius marketing minds of HealthCare.gov and the Obamacare insurance marketplace have a winning strategy to go with the ritualized engorgement and socially acceptable greed by capitalizing on the awkward family conversation about health-insurance coverage.
The White House released a helpful how-to guide for having “the health-care talk” with your family member, just in time for the awkward silence right before Thanksgiving dinner. (RELATED: Obama campaign video encourages kids to be annoying this Christmas)
BarackObama.com, a website now basically dedicated to increasing membership in the fumbling insurance marketplace, uploaded a promotional video, a “packing checklist,” talking points with scripted responses to common excuses, and a “pledge to have the talk” button. (RELATED: Obama tries to gain while apologizing for Obamacare rollout)
The video follows a millennial traveling to his parent’s suburban home for a vaguely festive holiday visit. As he steps into his car, the young man receives a call from his parents, who tell him, “We have something really important to talk to you about.”
During the car ride, the youth imagines what possible horror his parents would reveal about themselves, or worse, what they know about his sundry misdeeds: “We know what you did in Vegas. … We know what you did at Mardi Gras. … We know what you did last summer!”
Finally, the great reveal: “We know you don’t have health insurance,” his mother scolds. “We love you no matter what,” his father clarifies, “but it’s time you get covered.”
“Having the talk is easier than you imagine,” the video helpfully concludes. “This holiday season, make sure you talk to your loved ones about getting covered.”
Missing from the website is any recipes for the tasty mashed potatoes seen in the video.
After the humor of the video, the website gives honest step-by-step instructions on how breach the touchy subject of health insurance coverage with your family member, though they do not give any guidelines on how to navigate HealthCare.gov, or what to do if you can’t find an affordable health plan. (RELATED: Sticker Shock May Be Here To Stay)
Unlike the “brosurance” and “hosurance” ads released in the past few months, the video’s humor targets adults concerned about their beloved children, as opposed to attempting to excite young people about signing up for Obamacare. (RELATED: ‘Brosurance’ makes way for ‘hosurance’ in Obamacare Ads)