Blue Cross Blue Shield: December 2009

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Blue Cross Blue Shield: December 2009

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Astroturf

We Were Framed: Business Lobby Groups Claim Ignorance On Ads Offering Rewards For Political Action

Zachary Roth | December 17, 2009, 8:36AM

Forget those forged letters, and fake rallies. This week, we've been digging into it what may be the latest tool in the astroturf toolbox: incentivized online advertising.

That's when internet users are induced to take political action, on behalf of a lobbying group, through websites or online ads that offer rewards -- airline miles, free trips, even a gift card to Hooters. The problem with the tactic is clear: when members of Congress get an email from a voter on an issue of public concern, they assume it's an expression of authentic grassroots passion. If the sender was in fact incentivized by the chance to win a free plasma TV, that assumption doesn't bear out.

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Topics: 720 Strategies, Astroturf, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Chamber of Commerce, Health Care, Lobbyists

Astroturf

Fight Health Reform -- And Win A Plasma TV: Health Insurer Says Ads Are Fake

Zachary Roth | December 16, 2009, 10:58AM

Last week, we learned that Facebook users could win virtual currency for use in online games by sending an email to Congress opposing health-care reform.

In response, both the health insurers coalition thought to be behind the ads, and the P.R. firm hired by the coalition, claimed ignorance. A spokesman for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), which runs the coalition, Get Health Reform Right, told us yesterday that the coalition's contract explicitly forbids the use of such "incentivized ads," and said the ads that showed up on Facebook must be fakes. Pam Fielding, the president of 720 Strategies, which handled the campaign, said the same thing.

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Topics: Astroturf, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Chamber of Commerce, Health Care

Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC

Union Pushes Back On Blue Cross Mailer

Nick Pinto | December 1, 2009, 6:10PM

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)

Last week, we reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state's largest health insurer, was under investigation for a campaign of robocalls and mass-mailings urging residents to lobby U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan against the public option.

Now a local SEIU chapter has launched a site that keys off the news to push back on the insurer. The site blames BCBS's "monopoly" for "skyrocketing" health-care costs, and urges visitors to send a petition to Hagan telling her to "stand strong" and support the public option.