[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 176 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1853-E1854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             OBAMACARE ADS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 12, 2013

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, we all know that this administration is 
desperate to enroll young, healthy Americans in new exchange plans.
  A recent ad campaign from Progress Now Colorado shows just how low 
some groups are willing to go to catch young people's attention. The 
ads depict young men drinking right out of kegs of beer and 
objectifying young women. They try to encourage people to sign up for 
health care by making light of unhealthy behaviors.
  I recently received a letter from Dr. Julie Welch, which I'll submit 
for the Record, an emergency room physician in Indianapolis, 
specifically concerned about how the ads promoted risky sexual 
behavior. The ``Let's Get Physical'' ad depicts a young woman thanking 
Obamacare for the words ``for providing birth control pills.'' Dr. 
Welch writes ``As a taxpayer, I am puzzled at why advertising campaigns 
for health insurance appear to promote high-risk behaviors.''
  Promoting health coverage by condoning binge drinking and promiscuity 
is not a step toward a healthier America. What good is it to enroll 
young people in plans if their actions make them unhealthy?
  It's just another way that Obamacare just doesn't work.

                          McCordsville, Indiana, December 1, 2013.
       Dear Mr. President: I am writing to bring to your attention 
     a recent advertising campaign for the new Obamacare 
     government health insurance marketplace through ProgressNow 
     Colorado. The ad campaign was launched by ProgressNow 
     Colorado and the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative for the 
     online marketplace called ``Connect for Health Colorado'' in 
     October 2013. The ads are housed on the website of Progress 
     Now Colorado (http://doyougotinsurance.com).
       The campaign is titled ``Got Insurance'' and is a play on 
     the ``Got Milk'' phrase. But unlike the health benefits of 
     milk, the ``Got Insurance'' ads do not universally advertise 
     healthy choices; rather, many celebrate the unhealthy, high-
     risk behaviors of young adults. The ads of concern are 
     referred to as ``Brosurance,'' ``Brosurance for the Ladies,'' 
     or ``Hosurance,'' by the media and depict keg-stands, alcohol 
     consumption, and women picking up guys.
       Many of the ads have gone viral on the Internet and social 
     media. Although I have heard numerous comments from the 
     public, I have not seen your administration take a stand one 
     way or another on the messages being presented in this ad 
     campaign. Silence can only be interpreted as complacence and 
     acceptance. I, however, am neither complacent nor acceptant 
     of the ads that overtly objectify women and promote high-risk 
     behaviors. And as an emergency medicine physician, medical 
     educator, woman, mother, and taxpayer I would like to express 
     my concerns.
       Although the ad campaign has expanded to pertain to a 
     broader audience, I am concerned about the message conveyed 
     in several specific ads. One of the ads, titled ``Let's Get 
     Physical,'' depicts a woman holding birth control pills and 
     contemplating how she will get a guy to have sex with her. 
     Five of the ads depict or blatantly celebrate alcohol 
     consumption, titled ``Brosurance,'' ``Club Med,'' ``Friends 
     with Benefits,'' ``Keg ER,'' and ``Get Your Shots.'' What 
     message are these ads sending to our young people and our 
     children? As these ads go viral on social media, young people 
     may think that keg stands and one-night stands are okay. 
     Especially since they are being advertised in association 
     with healthcare, Obamacare specifically.
       Being an emergency department physician, health insurance 
     ads should not glorify alcohol consumption, doing keg stands, 
     drinking shots, or promiscuous sex. In the emergency 
     department, cases of trauma, physical assault, sexual 
     assault, and motor vehicle crashes are commonly associated 
     with substance abuse, including alcohol consumption. In 
     addition, alcohol consumption, for some patients, becomes a 
     lifelong disease of alcohol addiction leading to serious 
     health effects including hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, 
     bone marrow dysfunction, esophageal varicosities, intestinal 
     bleeding, and death. And it typically begins with partying as 
     a young adult, a time when the message is ``it's cool to 
     drink'' and ``you have to drink to have fun.'' The message I 
     want my patients and medical students to understand is the 
     opposite message I see in these ads. In fact, many of these 
     ads could be used to educate patients (including our 
     teenagers) to the potential negative health consequences of 
     high-risk behaviors. For instance, if you go to a party and 
     do keg stands, then hook up with a girl because she is on 
     birth control pills, what are all of the negative outcomes 
     you can foresee? Having health insurance will be the least of 
     your worries the next morning.
       The ad I am most concerned about is ``Let's Get Physical.'' 
     (I have included a copy with this letter.) It depicts a young 
     woman hold a packet of birth control pills standing next to a 
     young man and reads: ``OMG, he's hot! Let's hope he's as easy 
     to get as this birth control. My health insurance covers the 
     pill, which means all I have to worry about is getting him 
     between the covers. I got insurance. Now you can too. Thanks 
     Obamacare!'' There is an *asterisk at the bottom of the ad 
     that reads in tiny print: ``The pill doesn't protect you from 
     STDs, condoms and common sense do that.'' The message from 
     this ad is alarming in several ways and sends the wrong 
     message to women, men, girls, and boys.
       1. This ad objectifies women, making her the object of sex. 
     This alone is the most damaging consequence of advertising 
     such as this. This ad seriously harms the progress we have 
     made in women's rights and the way in which women are 
     depicted in the media. It is degrading and offensive.
       2. Promiscuous sexual behavior has serious risks for a 
     woman including increased risk of cervical cancer, 
     transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI), 
     unintended pregnancy, as well as psychological aftermath.
       3. Birth control pills do not protect against HIV, herpes, 
     gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted 
     diseases. And the small asterisk message at the bottom of the 
     ad does not outweigh the message put forth in the ad. In 
     fact, using a condom does not eliminate the risk of STD 
     transmission via other routes.
       4. Birth control pills are not 100% effective in preventing 
     pregnancy.
       5. Birth control pills and reproductive health rights do 
     not equal healthy sexual choices. This ad does not depict 
     responsible reproductive rights. In fact, this ad seems to 
     say that women with birth control pills are sexually 
     promiscuous and just take them to hook up with a guy. This ad 
     also seems to insinuate that now that she has birth control 
     pills, the barriers to a having a sexual relationship are 
     nearly gone. Just getting the guy into bed is all that's 
     left.
       6. Finally, what message does this ad send to men? Or 
     teenage boys? That a female just wants to get ``him between 
     the covers''? I fear this ad could promote aggressive 
     behavior towards women, especially if combined with the 
     people in the ads doing keg stands and drinking alcohol.
       In 2013, we are in an age when women make up 51% of the 
     workforce and 50% of medical students. Women cannot be silent 
     as advertising emerges that sends the wrong message about our 
     healthcare choices and us.

[[Page E1854]]

       As a taxpayer, I am puzzled at why advertising campaigns 
     for health insurance appear to promote high-risk behaviors? 
     Do I as a taxpayer have to cover the consequences of these 
     high-risk behaviors? Does the government agree with this? In 
     an age when many insurance companies risk stratify your 
     premiums based on smoking, obesity, blood pressure and 
     cholesterol levels, where does the government stand on the 
     high-risk behaviors in these ads? Will Americans have to 
     share the costs?
       The new health care plan is an opportunity to teach our 
     populations about health responsibility, avoidance of risky 
     behaviors, and promotion of good choices, because our country 
     is shouldering it. Health insurance advertising should 
     promote responsible behavior, no matter the source of the 
     advertising. Please take a stand.
           Sincerely,

                                              Julie Welch, MD,

                                      Emergency Medicine Physician
     and Educator.

                          ____________________