President Obama will take the administration’s furious healthcare pitch to “The Ellen Degeneres Show” on Thursday, The Hill has learned.
{mosads}The president won’t be in-studio with the Oscars host, but rather will urge viewers to sign up on the new exchanges before the March 31 deadline in an appearance streamed live from the White House.
Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden have also made the rounds of daytime and nighttime talk shows to push ObamaCare. The first lady was on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” last month, while Biden made appearances on “The View” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
The administration’s public relations blitz for the healthcare law is hitting critical mass this week, as senior White House officials, Cabinet members and sports personalities flood TV, radio and digital media markets to highlight the approaching open enrollment deadline.
On Wednesday, Obama unveiled his NCAA bracket on ESPN, part of a larger push by the administration to leverage the wildly popular basketball tournament to get the word out to sports fans. Digital ads from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services went up as well on the NBA website.
In addition, Miami Heat star Lebron James has cut an ad that will run nationally throughout the month, and his teammate, Shane Battier, helped Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius roll out a study showing that sports injuries are common among the young — a reason they should seek coverage.
On Thursday, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett will call into sports and music radio shows in markets with high levels of uninsured.