As Slate's Matt Yglesias points out, conservatives are already mobilizing to get people to opt out of the Affordable Care Act (dubbed "ObamaCare"). That's because the success of the health care exchanges hinges on getting a lot of young healthy people into the marketplace. As such, one of the prime targets for the anti-Affordable Care Act groups, including Generation Opportunity, which is funded by the Republican financiers Koch Brothers, are young women.
They have this super-creepy ad that shows a woman coming into her doctor's office for a routine gynecological exam. The doctor says, with disdain, "I see you chose to sign up for ObamaCare." The patient replies, "Yeah, it's actually my first time here." As the young women dons a gown and shimmies down to the end of the exam table, the doctor exits the room and a clown-like (and we all know clowns are the scariest creatures, ever!) appears in her place. "Don't let the government play doctor. Opt out of ObamaCare," the ad concludes.
Hopefully most people watching this ad will smell its stink and realize a pap smear—regardless of what type of insurance you're covered by—is relatively the same (uncomfortable, albeit clown-free) process. Signing up for the Health Insurance Marketplace during the open enrollment period, which runs from Oct 1 to March 31, will not prompt a creepy Uncle Sam to perform your medical exam. It will, however, provide the uninsured with access to important gynecological healthcare.
Sadly, messages spreading this harmful misinformation are only going to get more common as the exchanges open for business next month. Generation Opportunity is even planning a college tour this fall to persuade co-eds that it's better to go without insurance than sign-up for affordable health coverage. Of course, the exact opposite is true. If the woman in the ad above really was entering a women's health clinic for the first time, her ability to finally get an exam so important—especially for sexually active college students—that doctors recommend getting them once a year, is a huge victory—and shows why we should absolutely let the government "play doctor".
(For more information about how you can sign-up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, visit: http://www.getcoveredamerica.org.)
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
-
All the Easter Eggs and Name Drops on Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Explained
Digging through the fan theories so you don't have to.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
This Week's Best On-Sale Picks Include a Tory Burch Bag and Pretty Silver Ballet Flats
Warm weather is finally here—it's time to dress like it.
By Brooke Knappenberger Published
-
A Sporty It-Sneaker Era Is About to Begin
Nike's next Air models are designed for Olympic athletes, but they'll soon be all over street style.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
For Teachers, Going to Work Can Mean Life or Death
Stefanie Minguell, a COVID survivor and second grade teacher in Florida's Broward County, almost died of COVID-19 and is immunocomprised. When she teaches in the classroom, she’s forced to choose between her health and her students.
By Megan DiTrolio Published
-
Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics—And Neither Have Our Nation’s Moms
Policies touted in the $3.5 trillion budget plan and other Congressional bills are missing a core component of maternal well-being: menstrual access and health.
By Christy Turlington Burns Published
-
Your Abortion Questions, Answered
Here, MC debunks common abortion myths you may be increasingly hearing since Texas' near-total abortion ban went into effect.
By Rachel Epstein Published
-
The Texas Abortion “Snitch” Site Is Having a Bad Weekend
First it gets flooded with sexy Shrek memes, then the web host tells it to get lost.
By Cady Drell Published
-
The Anti-Choice Movement’s Aims Are Out in the Open: End Roe, Rip Away Reproductive Freedom
Today, 228 U.S. senators and representatives explicitly asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
By Adrienne Kimmell Published
-
Standing Between Care and Violence
Abortion-clinic escorts and defenders serve as human shields protecting patients from angry, aggressive protestors. Now, with emboldened extremists and the COVID crisis, they face more danger than ever before.
By Garnet Henderson Published
-
What's at Stake for Abortion Rights in the 2020 Election
"Everything is on the line in this election—our health, our rights, our bodies, and our futures."
By Megan DiTrolio Published
-
Power to Decide Launches Abortion Finder Tool
Amid legislative attacks on our reproductive health, this tool helps women find verified abortion care providers across the country.
By Rachel Epstein Published