Geographic Variation in ACA-Related Media Messages and Health Insurance Enrollment (2014)

Principal Investigator: Sarah Gollust, PhD, University of Minnesota

This project will inform the evidence base on the effectiveness of outreach and media strategies related to ACA access expansions. In collaboration with the Wesleyan Media Project, the researchers will (1) document geographic variation in the volume and tone of televised media messages about ACA implementation across U.S. media markets from October 2013 to March 2014; (2) test associations between the volume and tone of media messages and the public's Internet search behaviors about health insurance enrollment; and (3) examine relationships between the volume and tone of media messages and changes in insurance enrollment from 2013 to 2014.

Publications

TV Advertising Volumes Were Associated With Insurance Marketplace Shopping and Enrollment in 2014
(June 2018, Health Affairs)

Using Google Trends to Support Health Policy Analysis: A Case Study Examining the Correlation between Insurance-Related Search Patterns and Local-Area Characteristics
(May 2017, Issue Brief)

The Volume Of TV Advertisements During The ACA’s First Enrollment Period Was Associated With Increased Insurance Coverage
(March 2017, Health Affairs)

Local Television News Coverage of the Affordable Care Act: Emphasizing Politics Over Consumer Information
(February 2017, American Journal of Public Health)

TV Coverage of Early Obama care Enrollment
(February 2017, Video)

Media Messages and Perceptions of the Affordable Care Act during the Early Phase of Implementation
(February 2017, Journal of Health Policy, Politics, and Law)

Search and You Shall Find: Geographic Characteristics Associated With Google Searches During the Affordable Care Act's First Enrollment Period
(July 2016, Medical Care Research and Review)

Geographic Variation in ACA-Related Media Messages and Health Insurance Enrollment
(April 2016, Presentation at University of Chicago Center for Health Administration Studies)

Geographic Variation in Media Messaging about the Affordable Care Act and Associations with Insurance Enrollment
(April 2016, Presentation at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health) 

Media and the Politics of Implementation: Geographic Variation in ACA Coverage
(September 2015, Presentation at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting)

Media Coverage of Findings

Here's how local TV news is making it harder for the Senate to repeal Obamacare
The Washington Post, July 26, 2017

Trump is now in charge of making Obamacare work. What could go wrong?
VOX, March 27, 2017

Is Trumpcare already here?
Politico, March 23, 2017

No tall tale: Ads tied to insurance sign-ups
StarTribune, March 21, 2017

Local TV News Did A Really Bad Job Of Explaining Obamacare
Huffington Post, March 20, 2017

Early ACA Local News Coverage Focused on Politics, Not Health
University of Minnesota School of Public Health, February 2017

Fowler, Gollust ’01 Author Paper on News Coverage of Obamacare
News at Wesleyan University, February 2017

VIDEO • Tracing the origins of Obamacare confusion: Study highlights role of ‘politicized’ local TV news coverage
Health News Review, February 2017