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Insurers’ Pro-Obamacare Ad Spending Dwarfs AFP Opposition

February 11, 2014

Health insurance companies poured roughly $40 million into advertisements promoting Obamacare from December into February, outspending the much maligned group Americans for Prosperity, which has spent $27 million attacking the law since August.

The Washington Post crunched the numbers on Tuesday:

Companies such as Cigna and Kaiser Permanente poured about $40 million into television ads specifically related to Obamacare between Dec. 1 and Feb. 8, according to ad tracking firm Kantar Media. That is far more than AFP, which as of last week had dropped about $27 million on ads since August attacking politicians who supported the program.

The insurer spending was widely expected. The industry has a lot to lose if people-particularly young and healthy ones, who don't cost a lot to insure-do not sign up for health insurance in droves this year.

But individual insurance companies also have a lot to gain, as they make an unprecedented pitch directly to consumers in hopes of getting the biggest share of the newly covered.

Published under: Obamacare