White House recruits librarians to promote ObamaCare
2:57
Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of effort to spread word
Tags: On Air America's Newsroom
Added: 1 month ago
From: foxnewstest
Views: 11
[scene opens with a female reporter speaking directly to the camera, as "Obama Admin Recruits 17k Librarians To Help With Healthcare Law" appears on screen]
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Well, the Obama administration is now recruiting our nation's librarians in the PR push for the president's healthcare law. Up to seventeen thousand librarians will be helping to get Americans signed up for coverage. The move comes after the White House already tried to enlist the help of both the NBA and the NFL, and also telling teenagers that they need to translate some of this, in some cases, for their parents and help them understand it when they get home at night for dinner. Stephen Moore joins me now, senior economic writer at the Wall Street Journal.
[cut to a split-screen of the reporter and a man ("Stephen Moore, WSJ Senior Economic Writer") live via satellite]
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Uh, this is ... it's sort of a public army that's being enlisted to try to get this pushed through.
[he laughs]
MARTHA MACCALLUM: What do you make of the use of librarians? They have some time on their hands these days, apparently ... due to e-books and the like.
STEPHEN MOORE: You're right, Martha. And by the way, there was quite a hullabaloo last week, when it was announced that they were gonna try and deputize the NFL and the NBA Players Association--
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Yeah.
STEPHEN MOORE: To do public service ads for this.
["June 24: Obama admin unveiled new govt website and toll-free number to help consumers find insurance coverage" appears on screen]
STEPHEN MOORE: So the latest, of course, is what you just reported. That now librarians, and there are tens of thousands of them, that are going to be deputized to basically translate this law and to educate Americans about the law.
["April 2013: HHS reportedly signed $8 mil contract with PR firm to help promote the healthcare law" appears on screen]
STEPHEN MOORE: There's a big problem here, Martha, which is ... y'know, what comes next? Are we gonna use the postal service? Are we gonna use police and fire service to get people aware of the law? Uh, the other problem is it's not so much that people aren't aware of it, it's a lotta people just don't wanna sign up or they can't afford to sign up, and no matter how much information you give to people about the law, if they can't afford the extra cost, they are not gonna sign up, and that's gonna be a big problem.
["2014: California will begin handing out $37 million in grants for healthcare-related outreach and education programs" appears on screen]
STEPHEN MOORE: Because remember, January First is when this law kicks into effect, Martha.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Yeah. I mean, you just touched on what I think is the central point here. I mean, if people don't sign up, Steve, it will be a disaster. I mean, it takes everybody being in it, in order to ... even the most optomistic folks who look at this plan, that is of minor--
["Poll: Open enrollment for state exchanges begin Oct 1, yet less than 40 percent of voters know where their state stands" appears on screen]
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Y'know, I mean, that is an absolute baseline that they have to meet. So, do you blame them? I mean, y'know, libraries have been used to disseminate information. If people don't have a PC or they don't have internet access at home, it's the perfect place for them to go to try to figure it out. And people do wanna have a way to navigate it. So what's wrong with that?
STEPHEN MOORE: Well, I have two problems with this, Martha. One is that, y'know, the federal government is now spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year trying to recruit people to sign up for public benefits which, y'know, you guys at FOX have covered the kind of scandal--
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Food stamps.
STEPHEN MOORE: With food stamps, exactly.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Yeah.
STEPHEN MOORE: Where we're ... y'know, basically telling people, "Yeah, sign up, it's good for the economy!" And so on. I just don't like this. Look, people should be able to make their own decisions. And I'd also question whether librarians are a good source of information for young people. Look, it's mostly young people under the age of thirty that are very skeptical about signing up for this program.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: Yeah.
STEPHEN MOORE: Look, I don't think people under thirty actually use libraries very much. They've got their iPads and they've got all of their other computer equipment! Y'know, they've got it right online, right in front'a them!
MARTHA MACCALLUM: You don't think a lot of twenty-year-olds are hanging out at libraries these days?
[he laughs]
---
From foxnews.com:
It was hard enough to learn the Dewey Decimal System. Now they've got to learn the health care law?
In the escalating campaign to promote ObamaCare, the nation's librarians are about to become the Obama administration's latest recruits.
The White House, in conjunction with the American Library Association, kicked off the partnership on Sunday morning in Chicago, where the organization is holding its annual conference. President Obama, who is currently in Africa, was delivering a 10-minute video message to the conference.
Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of the effort to spread the word about the health care law while giving the public access to their computers. The government-librarian team-up is one of a number of partnerships -- some more controversial than others -- that the administration is trying to build in order to promote the law ahead of an Oct. 1 kick-off.
That's when people without health coverage will start shopping for insurance online on new websites, where they can get tax credits to help pay the cost. Low-income people will be enrolled in an expanded version of Medicaid in states that adopt it.
Libraries equipped with public computers and Internet access already serve as a bridge across the digital divide, so it made sense to get them involved, said Julie Bataille, spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"Libraries are a tremendous resource for people in their communities," Bataille said. "They're already a destination many individuals go to when they're seeking out information and understanding on a variety of issues."
As the administration partners with the librarians, it's having a tougher time with a national advertising campaign. The Department of Health and Human Services last week announced it was trying to link up with major sports leagues, but Republican lawmakers swiftly urged those organizations not to get involved. On Friday, the National Football League said it had no plans to work with HHS on the health care law.
The library association, though, appears to be all in. On Sunday, the group's Washington office plans to host a session to teach library workers how to help the public with the health care law.
Libraries already provide health information to 28 million people a year via public access computers, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal grant-making agency, which will coordinate the new effort with CMS. The two federal agencies also worked together during the rollout of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, experience that should help with this effort, Bataille said.
Libraries will be particularly important in conservative states that aren't making much effort to promote the health law's opportunities.
In Texas, the Dallas library system's home page has linked to HealthCare.gov -- the revamped federal website that is the hub for health law information. Embedding the widget on their sites is another way some libraries may choose to get involved, said Susan Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Some libraries may decide to set aside some public computers for people seeking health insurance or extend time limits on computers, Hildreth said. Some may work with community health centers on educational events. Those will be local decisions with each library deciding how to participate.
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From washingtontimes.com:
Librarian foot soldiers enlisted to help with Obamacare enrollment
By Associated Press
Saturday, June 29, 2013
CHICAGO - The nation's librarians will be recruited to help people get signed up for insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of the effort to get information and crucial computer time to the millions of uninsured Americans who need to get coverage under the law.
The undertaking will be announced Sunday in Chicago at the annual conference of the American Library Association, according to federal officials who released the information early to The Associated Press.
The initiative starts Oct. 1, when people without health coverage will start shopping for insurance online on new websites where they can get tax credits to help pay the cost. Low-income people will be enrolled in an expanded version of Medicaid in states that adopt it.
About 7 million people are expected to sign up for coverage in the new marketplaces next year, but the heavy emphasis on the Web-based portals puts anyone without access to a computer at a disadvantage.
Libraries equipped with public computers and Internet access already serve as a bridge across the digital divide, so it made sense to get them involved, said Julie Bataille, spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"Libraries are a tremendous resource for people in their communities," Bataille said. "They're already a destination many individuals go to when they're seeking out information and understanding on a variety of issues."
Libraries also have public spaces where meetings can be held. And they already provide health information to 28 million people a year via public access computers, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal grant-making agency, which will coordinate the new effort with CMS. The two federal agencies also worked together during the rollout of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, experience that should help with this effort, Bataille said.
Libraries will be particularly important in conservative states that are not making much effort to promote the health law's opportunities.
In Texas, the Dallas library system's home page has linked to HealthCare.gov - the revamped federal website that is the hub for health law information. Embedding the widget on their sites is another way some libraries may choose to get involved, said Susan Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Some libraries may decide to set aside some public computers for people seeking health insurance or extend time limits on computers, Hildreth said. Some may work with community health centers on educational events. Those will be local decisions with each library deciding how to participate.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is contracting with the Online Computer Library Center to develop an online toolkit and training webinars for librarians, Hildreth said. Librarians are likely to get questions on the health law from the public.
"Frankly whether we're prepared or not, it's going to happen, so the best way for us to serve the public is to prepare ahead of time," Hildreth said.
Lissa Staley, a librarian in Topeka, Kan., specializes in health information, and already is helping people figure out their insurance options.
"I talked to a woman this morning who said, 'I'm a single mom. I make too much money to qualify for Medicaid and my employer will only let me work part time.' I gave her my card and we're going to sort through some of her options," Staley said.
"It's never just a straightforward question," Staley said. "It's always a life story and we help sort through the pieces of where we can help."
---
From huffingtonpost.com:
Public libraries will be part of the federal government's sweeping consumer-education campaign on health care reform, President Barack Obama's administration announced Monday.
Starting Oct. 1, individuals and small employers will shop for coverage and learn about financial assistance in health insurance exchange marketplaces. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is implementing these marketplaces under the law, will provide information to libraries in order to educate the public, the agency said.
The Obama administration is beginning a broad education and outreach campaign to reach the millions of people who will be using the health insurance exchanges to obtain health care coverage, which will be required for most people next year. Libraries not only are public resources in most communities, but also provide computer and internet services to people who don't have access in their homes, including the low-income individuals most likely to benefit from Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid and subsidies for private health insurance.
"People will likely turn to libraries to learn about the marketplace, and we want to make sure that library staff has access to the tools and the information to respond to people who want to sign up and enroll for coverage on Oct. 1," Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a press release.
Surveys have shown that public understanding of the health care reform law is low, especially among low-income and uninsured people who stand to gain the most from Obamacare.
As many as 17,000 libraries could participate in Obamacare educational activities via the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal entity that provides funding to libraries, the Associated Press reported Friday.
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