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Regardless of how one feels about healthcare reform, people on both sides of the spectrum generally agree that it is a serious issue that requires careful consideration. It is also important for constituents to express their opinion to the politicians that represent them, whether or not they believe that the current bill is a step forward or worry about its impact on their existing health insurance plan. Therefore, it is unfortunate that some Internet marketers are running misleading advertisements that promise rewards–such as virtual currency for online games or real gift cards–while encouraging consumers to send Washington, D.C. an email opposing reform.

The firm responsible for these ads is Webclients Affilliate Network, and they have been working with a coalition of ten health insurance plan providers that includes Blue Cross Blue Shield. Admittedly, the banner ads for Get Health Reform Right do not explicitly require Web surfers to send a form letter in order to receive the reward. However, that disclaimer is buried in the fine print after pages of health-related survey questions that includes a question asking whether or not the survey taker wants to get health reform right. The user must answer “yes” in order for the anti-government-run insurance plan page to pop up, but the wording is vague. Different people have varying opinions of what ideal healthcare reform entails.

It isn’t just the public option opponents that have used this somewhat deceptive advertising. The American Medical Association had one that offered free gifts on a page that asked consumers to send a pre-written email to their congresspersons supporting the expansion of access to a health insurance plan. Such ads put a cloud over what should be genuine political speech. According to a representative of the Get Health Reform Right coalition, almost two million letters have been sent since the campaign began over the summer. While the vast majority of those letters were surely legitimate, this revelation casts doubt on their accuracy as a measure of general public sentiment. To their credit, the representative denies that such advertising was concocted by them: in fact, their advertising policy with Internet marketers specifically prohibits offering financial awards in exchange for such political action.

The phenomenon of reward advertising on the Internet is controversial. It has lured many unsuspecting users towards giving up personal information in exchange for gift cards or points that can be used to buy objects in popular Facebook games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille. Many consumers who click on these ads tend to be younger and lack the credit card information to buy things online outright. It is perfectly legal, but often preys on age groups that are impulsive and may falsely assume that sending the letter against healthcare reform is required to receive the offer. The practice of compensating people for their appearance of boosting support for a political cause, encouraged by lobbying groups such as America’s Health Insurance Plans, is known as astroturfing. Although it is legal, its ethicality is questionable. This instance has been likened to a new form of “virtual astroturfing”, which intends to deceive politicians into believing a government run health insurance plan has less public support than it may actually have. Such actions may have had a minor impact on the Senate choosing to drop the public option in the healthcare reform bill, due to their consideration of it as politically untenable.

In addition, if a significant percentage of those submitting the letters are teenagers, individuals who are not current voters may be steering senators and representatives in a way that is not truly representative of the population. There are unfortunately uninsured children, but most can acquire coverage; either through the health insurance plan with their parents’ job, or the state governments’ SCHIP programs. Most likely, the health insurers paid an amount for every letter submitted; the Web marketing firm then created the survey and campaign around it. Webclients denies that they never ran such ads, but media sources have confirmed proof. These campaigns appear to have stopped for now. Hopefully, debate and opinions about healthcare reform will come solely from the hearts and minds of the people, not advertisers and lobbyists on either side, in the future.

About the Author:

Yamileth Medina is an up and coming expert on Health Insurance and Healthcare Reform. She aims to help people realize that they can find a health insurance plan right now while waiting for a public option, if it ever gets passed. Yamileth lives in Miami, FL.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Would You Oppose Health Insurance Plan Reform For a Gift Card?

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