From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
A Tale of Two Health Insurance Ads
Over the weekend my eyeballs caught sight of appeals from two rival Maine health insurance providers to get people to sign up before the 2015 enrollment period ends. One is a full-page print ad for Maine Community Health Options (non-profit, my plan is through them) in the Maine Sunday Telegram, and the other is a direct-mail piece from Anthem BC/BS (mega corporation). The contrast in the two approaches is interesting but not surprising.
Both ads promote the same general benefits: 1) No-cost preventive services 2) Doctor visits, hospitalization and drug coverage and 3) Your choice of doctor from their networks. Maine Community Health adds "Competitive pricing" while Anthem touts its "24/7 NurseLine."
The Community Health ad has four generic stock photos of smiley-huggy people bisecting the headline, "Helping You Protect . . . what's most precious to you." Then two subheads: "Our health plans are designed to bring you better health and protect your finances. So you can appreciate more and worry less" and "Join the Member-directed, non-profit health plan that's making a difference." At the bottom is a small web site address and phone number.
Anthem's mailer---no graphics, just a generic-looking folded piece with lots of copy---is big on urgency: "FINAL NOTICE"..."Time is short!"..."Contact us immediately"..."Contact us now"..."You have limited time to choose"..."This is the last time we can contact you." It tells me I can "save on guaranteed coverage" and I may "qualify for financial help…even if you don’t qualify for other federal assistance." You'll find the phone number in five places, the web site in two. There are two sections of microscopic disclaimers, including one that says they can, essentially, call me anytime and bombard me with automated sales pitches "even if listed on a national or state Do Not Call registry." Nice.
Bottom Line: The non-profit ad looks pretty enough (the stock photo people are really happy) but lacks crackle or urgency. The Anthem ad looks cheap, smarmy (is this really the "last time" you can contact me?) and pushy. Apart from mentioning the Feb. 15 deadline, neither ad connects their plans to the ACA in any way, nor do they mention provisions that are really popular, like the ban on pre-existing-condition denials and lifetime caps. Odd.
What kind of ads are you seeing in your neck of the woods? I hope they have more sizzle than these. As always, Healthcare.gov is there to help you shop and compare.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Note: This note is being taken completely out of context and I refuse to apologize for it.
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16 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til spring:
58
Days 'til the
Enumclaw Wine & Chocolate Festival in Washington:
16
Minimum value of U.S. exports to Cuba in 2014:
$273 million
(Source:
USA Today)
Drop in hourly wages between November and December:
0.2%
(Source: Bloomberg News)
White turnout in the presidential elections of 1968 and 2012, respectively:
69%, 58%
Black turnout in the presidential elections of 1968 and 2012, respectively:
58%, 62%
(Source: Census Bureau)
Size of the crowd who went to see the Pope in Manila Sunday:
6 million
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 180 (including 5 global turmoils and a pair of satanic tail lights). Soul Protection Factor 24 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Woozles vs. Wacuums
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CHEERS to arriving fired up and ready to go. That Barack Obama is a baaaad mother…. (Shut your mouth!)…Well, I'm talking about Obama… (And we can dig it!) Last night's State of the Union address (transcript here), in my humble opinion, had confidence, optimism, and just the right amount of tough running through it. Here's my annual brain dump for future archaeologists to marvel over:
>> They were in a clapping mood last night. Must've been an open bar.
>> Obama: "Tonight, together, let’s do more to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity for every American." Republicans: "Boooo!"
Boehner checked out early.
>> Obama: "The state of our union is improving, despite the best efforts of you idiots sitting in front of me with the 'Rs' after your names."
>> Obama: "And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it." Republicans: "It's not that we don't know you can't live on that. It's that we don’t care."
>> Obama: "No challenge poses a greater threat to us than climate change." Conservatives: "No challenge poses a greater threat to us than our base figuring out that climate change is real so we can't keep making money off fundraising appeals calling climate change a hoax."
>> Obama: "We still may not agree on a woman’s right to choose, but surely we can agree it’s a good thing that teen pregnancies and abortions are nearing all-time lows, and that every woman should have access to the health care she needs." Republicans: "All your hoohaw belong to us."
>> "And I make this solemn promise to America tonight: Ted Cruz will never deliver a State of the Union Address. And you can probably strike out Christie, too." [15 minute standing ovation]
Overall, a speech worthy of an A, I thought. Meanwhile, 14 of the Republican rebuttals have been delivered. The remaining 109 should be finished by tomorrow evening.
JEERS to the dog poop on the shoe. Providing last night's low point, by reacting this way to a DREAMer invited to sit in the gallery, was Republican Congressman Steve King:
As in, King of the awful people.
CHEERS to missionary positions. Pope Francis is in the news again. On his way back from Asia he told reporters that Catholics no longer have to breed like rabbits. His exact words: "This is the twenty-first century, so let's call it what it is: humping like bunnies." Back in Rome, Benedict quietly slipped a nitroglycerin tablet under his tongue.
JEERS to John Q. Corporation: Super Citizen!!! Five years ago today, five conservative activist judges on the Supreme Court delivered their verdict on our system of government: it's
for sale to the highest bidder.
Citizens United is now a four-letter two-words to anyone who values clean and fair campaign financing. But we now know that there's a rather sizable silver lining in the wake of that decision. Those idiot Justices, who agreed that "corporations are people," pissed off so many people that the billionaires and their Super PAC lapdogs got run over by a grassroots stampede in 2012. Money is still huge and often decisive, hence the need to do something to curb the tidal wave of cash. But it's not a bell that automatically makes us drool over a candidate when Sheldon Adelson or the Koch brothers ring it. Unless, of course, the candidate's name is Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard.
CHEERS to Mitch McConnell: American Commie. Holy cow, a Republican who actually doesn't have a third-rail death wish over gutting Social Security. The new Senate majority leader says he's not going to bring Social Security-weakening bills to the floor if the only pawprints on them belong to the GOP. Apparently Mitch is familiar with the words of a certain St. Ronald Reagan:
Screw you, teabaggers.
"For too long, too many people dependent on Social Security have been cruelly frightened by individuals seeking political gain through demagoguery and outright falsehood, and this must stop.
The future of Social Security is much too important to be used as a political football.
So now all we gotta do is keep House Democrats from coming to the negotiation table. Shouldn't be tough. Nancy Pelosi has the cleaning crew polish the table every night with
Blue Dog B-Gone.
CHEERS to comeuppance. On January 21, 1997, House Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined for violating House rules and misleading congressional investigators looking into his possible misuse of tax-exempt donations for political purposes. It was the first time the House voted (395-28) to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct. I believe the sun was shining and the birds were singing.
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Ten years ago in C&J: January 21, 2005
JEERS to Bush's blather. During his inaugural speech, George W. Bush said our relations with "every ruler and every nation" would now be based on how they treat their people. Hear that, Saudi Arabia and Sudan? You guys are so...um...exempted.
JEERS to "The Rod." It's 22-inches long, made of nylon, and promoted as "the ideal tool for child training" in accordance with Christian Scripture. Public outcry finally stopped sales of the device. But we sure would consider using one on the parents who think it's cool to beat their kids in the name of Christ.
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And just one more…
JEERS to the Deep Thinkers of America gathering to think deeply. Here's one of my all-time favorite facepalm-worthy moments from the beltway, via the January 21, 2007 edition of The Chris Matthews Show. Ask yourself if you think they'll treat Chris Christie and/or Mike Huckabee (who looked, um, well-fed on The Daily Show Monday night) the same way as they contemplate their presidential aspirations:
Ha Ha! Fat jokes about
fat people are ha ha funny!
David Brooks: I've heard no evidence that Al Gore wants to run for office, and unless there's a sharp increase in sales of Slim-Fast...
Chris Matthews: HA!!! Ha Haaaaa!!! That's what I say!! That's what I say!! Can a black man win the presidency? Can a woman win the presidency? Can a fat white man win the presidency is the other question!
Brooks: I'm not one to talk, of course...
Matthews: You're not overweight, not compared to him!
Brooks: And finally, you know, [Democrats have] stars running for office. They've got three real stars.
Matthews: OK---if we see a plummeting in the scales of Al Gore this summer, a super Slim-Fast diet, does that say this guy's getting back in there?
Howard Fineman: It will be front-page news. Al Gore buys a package of Slim-Fast. But, y'know, I don't know...
Matthews: Norah, what do you think? Are we going to watch the scales here to see how it's going?
Norah O'Donnell: I think that's unfair. But I think...
Matthews: There's always somebody to put me in the position of bad guy!!! I'm going for the white guy! You're talking about the black guy!
The obvious conclusion: liberal bloggers are poisoning our civil discourse.
Oh, and today is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Watch out for packs of drunken dogs running through the street---this is their high holy day. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"Bill in Portland Maine is a liar to your face. He is a very disingenuous man."
---Glenn Beck
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