Walgreens and Blue Cross Blue Shield have teamed up to launch a campaign to promote Obamacare before its major provisions take effect.
The nation’s largest drug retail chain, with an assist from one of America’s largest health insurance companies, launched the website LearnAboutReform.com on Wednesday. It seeks to inform consumers of what they stand to gain from the law.
The also promised to distribute informational brochures about the law.
“The Affordable Care Act will expand access to health insurance for millions of Americans and broaden health benefits, but many Americans have had little experience purchasing health coverage and are confused about what the law means to them,” said Maureen Sullivan, a senior vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Brad Fluegel, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Walgreens, said that “through this collaboration we hope the millions of Americans who will be entering the marketplace in October are more informed and better prepared.”
The effort serves as a reminder that despite the bitter, ongoing partisan debate over Obamacare, health care providers and industry groups are broadly invested in the law and want it to work. While they privately voice frustrations with the GOP’s effort to sabotage implementation of the law, they’re wary of retribution if they say so publicly.
Republicans have aggressively criticized the Obama administration’s efforts to ask outside organizations for help with encouraging Americans to sign up for insurance on the market exchanges before enrollment begins on October 1. Coverage begins on Jan. 1, 2014.
The Walgreens-Blue Cross website offers an array of information about what the health care law does, when its major provisions go into effect, and the benefits for consumers.
“We know the new healthcare reform act is complicated,” the website reads. “That’s why we’re here to help. Along with Blue Cross Blue Shield, we’ll help you better understand how the new law works, how you’ll be affected, and answer commonly asked questions.”
