This Insurance Company Is Reaching Customers By Poking Fun At Obamacare

Sam Stein
Updated

WASHINGTON -- The top health insurer in Iowa is launching a new ad campaign poking fun at the failure of Obamacare's federal exchanges and encouraging people to enroll directly with the company.

The ad campaign from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield will air in Iowa and South Dakota markets starting this Thursday and run through mid-December, an official with the company told The Huffington Post. The ads -- three versions in total -- were initially spotted by Kantar Media CMAG, an ad-tracking group.

"Things don't always work like they're supposed to," the script of the ad goes. "Good thing the government exchange website isn't the only place to buy health insurance. Just visit Wellmark.com/simple or call today."

Reached by phone, Traci McBee, a spokeswoman for Wellmark, said that the ads were meant to reach a "small market" of individuals in need of coverage and frustrated by their shopping experience.

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In Iowa and South Dakota, state insurance divisions allowed all carriers to extend current plans through the end of 2014, meaning that the pool of those whose coverage was dropped was relatively small (McBee estimated that 80 percent of the company's small groups have chosen to keep their coverage).

Those who changed coverage or were dropped could go look at options on the exchanges, which are run by the federal government in South Dakota and are run through a state-fed partnership in Iowa. But those websites have been difficult to navigate. And even if the experience was seamless, consumers won't find Wellmark in either.

The insurance company is not participating in either Iowa or South Dakota’s exchanges in 2014, choosing to wait until 2015. The ad campaign is "designed to make sure people know there is more than one place to shop," explained McBee. "Lost in the swirl right now is the fact that consumers can still buy insurance in all the ways they have before –- working through a trusted insurance broker or direct from an insurance company."

Insurance companies not participating in the exchanges still have to offer insurance options with minimal coverage standards. But direct enrollment has its complications, too. For starters, it could draw more customers out of the exchanges -– endangering their viability as marketplaces. Also, direct shopping deprives the customer of potential deals, as he or she can't compare between offers.

That said, the failures of the federal website have caused even the White House to more fully embrace direct enrollment.

"We are also working to set up direct enrollment through insurance companies so that Americans could choose to enroll directly through the insurance company," press secretary Jay Carney said on Monday. "And that’s another method by which we can reach the same point that is the goal here. Again, it’s the end here that matters, not necessarily the means. The means are important and we have made clear our shared frustration with the problems that the website has experienced, but we have to make sure that there are other means available for the American people even as we make improvements to the website."

1912

Former President Theodore Roosevelt champions national health insurance as he unsuccessfully tries to ride his progressive Bull Moose Party back to the White House.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt champions national health insurance as he unsuccessfully tries to ride his progressive Bull Moose Party back to the White House.

1935

President Franklin D. Roosevelt favors creating national health insurance amid the Great Depression but decides to push for Social Security first.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt favors creating national health insurance amid the Great Depression but decides to push for Social Security first.

1942

Roosevelt establishes wage and price controls during World War II. Businesses can't attract workers with higher pay so they compete through added benefits, including health insurance, which grows into a workplace perk.
Roosevelt establishes wage and price controls during World War II. Businesses can't attract workers with higher pay so they compete through added benefits, including health insurance, which grows into a workplace perk.

1945

President Harry Truman calls on Congress to create a national insurance program for those who pay voluntary fees. The American Medical Association denounces the idea as "socialized medicine" and it goes nowhere.
President Harry Truman calls on Congress to create a national insurance program for those who pay voluntary fees. The American Medical Association denounces the idea as "socialized medicine" and it goes nowhere.

1960

John F. Kennedy makes health care a major campaign issue but as president can't get a plan for the elderly through Congress.
John F. Kennedy makes health care a major campaign issue but as president can't get a plan for the elderly through Congress.

1965

President Lyndon B. Johnson's legendary arm-twisting and a Congress dominated by his fellow Democrats lead to creation of two landmark government health programs: Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor.
President Lyndon B. Johnson's legendary arm-twisting and a Congress dominated by his fellow Democrats lead to creation of two landmark government health programs: Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor.

1974

President Richard Nixon wants to require employers to cover their workers and create federal subsidies to help everyone else buy private insurance. The Watergate scandal intervenes.
President Richard Nixon wants to require employers to cover their workers and create federal subsidies to help everyone else buy private insurance. The Watergate scandal intervenes.

1976

President Jimmy Carter pushes a mandatory national health plan, but economic recession helps push it aside.
President Jimmy Carter pushes a mandatory national health plan, but economic recession helps push it aside.

1986

President Ronald Reagan signs COBRA, a requirement that employers let former workers stay on the company health plan for 18 months after leaving a job, with workers bearing the cost.
President Ronald Reagan signs COBRA, a requirement that employers let former workers stay on the company health plan for 18 months after leaving a job, with workers bearing the cost.

1988

Congress expands Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit and catastrophic care coverage. It doesn't last long. Barraged by protests from older Americans upset about paying a tax to finance the additional coverage, Congress repeals the law the next year.
Congress expands Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit and catastrophic care coverage. It doesn't last long. Barraged by protests from older Americans upset about paying a tax to finance the additional coverage, Congress repeals the law the next year.

1993

President Bill Clinton puts first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in charge of developing what becomes a 1,300-page plan for universal coverage. It requires businesses to cover their workers and mandates that everyone have health insurance. The plan meets Republican opposition, divides Democrats and comes under a firestorm of lobbying from businesses and the health care industry. It dies in the Senate.

1997

Clinton signs bipartisan legislation creating a state-federal program to provide coverage for millions of children in families of modest means whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. 
Clinton signs bipartisan legislation creating a state-federal program to provide coverage for millions of children in families of modest means whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. 

2003

President George W. Bush persuades Congress to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare in a major expansion of the program for older people.
President George W. Bush persuades Congress to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare in a major expansion of the program for older people.

2008

Hillary Clinton promotes a sweeping health care plan in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She loses to Barack Obama, who has a less comprehensive plan.
Hillary Clinton promotes a sweeping health care plan in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She loses to Barack Obama, who has a less comprehensive plan.

2009

President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress spend an intense year ironing out legislation to require most companies to cover their workers; mandate that everyone have coverage or pay a fine; require insurance companies to accept all comers, regardless of any pre-existing conditions; and assist people who can't afford insurance.
President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress spend an intense year ironing out legislation to require most companies to cover their workers; mandate that everyone have coverage or pay a fine; require insurance companies to accept all comers, regardless of any pre-existing conditions; and assist people who can't afford insurance.

2010

With no Republican support, Congress passes the measure, designed to extend health care coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people. Republican opponents scorned the law as "Obamacare."
With no Republican support, Congress passes the measure, designed to extend health care coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people. Republican opponents scorned the law as "Obamacare."

2012

On a campaign tour in the Midwest, Obama himself embraces the term "Obamacare" and says the law shows "I do care."
On a campaign tour in the Midwest, Obama himself embraces the term "Obamacare" and says the law shows "I do care."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.