Today's Headlines on Obamacare Implementation

One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

English Proverb

The headline is the ticket on the meat.

David Ogilvy (1911-1999),  Confessions of an Advertising Man

I offer for your consideration four of  today’s headlines on Obamacare.   Your job is to judge if the headlinee are believable, and if they make you want to go ahead to read the story.   Remember: the healdine is the most important element of any story.  It must offer a promise to readers to keep them reading.  And it must be phrased in such a way to make it memorable.

To whet your appetite,  I also offer the opening paragraph in the story.

·         “Administration Struggles to Meet Make-or-Break Deadlines,   Reuters.

 

With time running out, U.S. officials are struggling to cope with the task of launching the new online health insurance exchanges at the heart of President Barack Obama's signature health reforms by an October 1 deadline.

Comment -  Good headline. “Make-or-Break Deadlines” captures urgency of situation.

·         “Obamacare’s Missing Mandate”, Politico
 

The massive coast-to-coast campaign to get people to sign up for Obamacare is light on mentions of one central element: the widely disliked individual mandate. Poll after poll has found that Americans don’t like being told they have to get insurance or face a penalty. So the groups doing outreach don’t plan to draw much attention to it.

Comment -  Superb headline,  Makes one want to find out what’s missing.

·         Senator Harry Reid:  “Obamacare Will Be Wonderful for America,”  RealPolitics Video

First of all-- Obamacare, whatever comes up, the Republicans throw that at me. You realize, they have voted to repeal it 40 times? What's happened? 40 times, of course, it's failed.
Obamacare has been wonderful for America. 6 million seniors have h-- wellness checks now. 3.1 million young people are now-- now have insurance. Insurance can't rip off people anymore. That's why people got millions of dollars of refunds last year. If you have a preexisting disability, you're covered. They should just get real and understand this is a m-- law that's important. And we-- we nee-- they need to work with us to improve it.

Comment: Good. Invites question “What’s wonderful about it?”  I thought his comments were effective,  concrete, and specific.

·         Senator Mitch McConnell:  “Obamacare Will Be ‘The Premier Issue’ in the 2014 Elections”.     RealClearPolitics Video

Look, this is a big controversial issue. It's not going away. It's in all likelihood going to be the premier issue in the 2014 election. The American people dislike it even more now than they did when it was passed, and they hope that the Congress will respond to their desire to stop this train-wreck before it happens.

Comment:  Good. Speaks truth and encapsulates Obamacare as number one political issue, probably for next 16 months.

Tweet: Headlines indicate sign-ups may make make-or-break law, talk missing on individual mandate, it has benefits, and it’s # 1 political issue.