Latest O-Care enrollment targets: Women, moms

ObamaCare enrollment focus turns to women and moms this week in the latest effort by the administration to target specific demographic groups.

{mosads}According to a White House official, the administration will kick off “Mom Knows Best!” week on Monday through online engagement, local events and targeted media appearances ahead of the March 31 open enrollment deadline.

President Obama will give an interview to the online health information portal WebMD on Friday. The administration official said 60 percent of that website’s 156 million unique visitors per month are women.

On Tuesday, first lady Michelle Obama will join canvassers going door to door in neighborhoods with some of the highest uninsured rates in the country.

Also on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a press call with local elected officials in Atlanta from the Women’s Health Center.

On Wednesday, Sebelius will hold a conference call with women bloggers, and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett will host a Google+ Hangout with Cosmo for Latinas to encourage young Hispanic women to enroll.

The efforts are “focused on highlighting the critical role women and moms are playing in helping their families access quality, affordable healthcare by encouraging their adult children, family members and peers” to sign up for health insurance, the administration official said.

The White House intends to highlight aspects of ObamaCare that will appeal specifically to women, such as beefier health plans that cover preventative services, like mammograms and contraception, the provision that allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26 and “the guarantee that women can’t be charged more for healthcare just because they’re women.”

The efforts come after the Obama administration made a similar push for black and Hispanic consumers over the past few weeks.
 
Federal health officials face a tough task in reaching a previous goal of 7 million sign-ups by March 31. Through late February, only 4 million had signed up, and the administration needs a strong number of healthy consumers, who skew younger, for the law to perform optimally.

The administration has said it expects an influx of enrollees just before the March 31 deadline.