(Bloomberg Politics) — With the first major deadline of the year for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) open enrollment period arriving today — Dec. 15 -President Barack Obama has been engaging in a short media tour to encourage enrollment.
A week ago, he appeared on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," and on Friday he hit ESPN radio's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," a radio station in Raleigh, and "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" (which will air today).
Open enrollment doesn't end until Feb. 15, but this season's enrollment period is only half as long as last season's. The main difference is that, as Alex Wayne at Bloomberg News reported, enrollments are expected to exceed (lowered) expectations, thanks to a working website and new customers.
During the PPACA's enrollment deadlines last winter and spring, the question was whether 7 million people would enroll, especially young adults. That spurred advertisements during the Olympics, a video featuring Michelle Obama with Jonah Hill and Adam Levine's moms attempting to guilt people into getting insured, and Obama appearances on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Between Two Ferns."
See also: Celebrities helping Obama promote exchanges.