The White House has launched a new tactic to persuade Americans to sign up for health coverage: the “awww” factor.
On Thursday the Obama administration tweeted an image of an ebullient infant Barack in his swimming costume frolicking in surf, accompanied by an injunction: “No one stays young and invincible forever. Make sure you #GetCovered by February 15.”
Michelle Obama made her own pitch for young people to sign up by tweeting a picture of her younger self doing a handstand in what appears to be a suburban garden.
“#TBT to being a young invincible. But now it’s time to stay healthy & #GetCovered by Feb 15,” she said.
TBT referrs to Throwback Thursday, a weekly social media posting trend in which people hark back to the past, recent and distant, on Twitter and Instagram.
The sign-up date refers to the deadline for the second enrolment period of the health insurance marketplace, the centrepiece of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
In the White House tweet the young Obama is shown on his knees against a swirling tide – a position Republicans can only wish on the adult version – but the clenched fist and grin show the future president was having a blast.
No one stays young and invincible forever. Make sure you #GetCovered by February 15: http://t.co/rNzHK68SaZ #TBT pic.twitter.com/NbBfcZB4ZJ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 29, 2015
The tweet directs followers to the government’s health coverage website.
Vice-president Joe Biden, at 73 almost two decades older than the president, posted a black and white picture of his childhood self, groomed, wearing a tie and flashing a precocious rehearsal of his vote-for-me smile.
We're not young & invincible forever. #GetCovered by 2/15 to give yourself peace of mind. http://t.co/GQXTGtNmNq #TBT pic.twitter.com/5tcaoHU4du
— Vice President Biden (@VP) January 29, 2015
Whether enough young people sign up for coverage may make or break the president’s signature legislative achievement, which faces Republican assaults and supreme court scrutiny.
The administration said earlier this week that 9.5 million people had signed up to receive health coverage through public marketplaces in 2015
Insurers prize young clients because they tend to be healthy and their premiums can help cover medical claims for older, more frail subscribers. Just over a quarter of those signing up to federal and state exchanges are aged between 18 and 34.
Some sniped at the tweets. Others, like @Wisenheimer, could only gush:
@whitehouse Cutest. President. EVER.
— Courtenay Hameister (@Wisenheimer) January 29, 2015
