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.