States Now Have To Convince People To Actually Use Obamacare Exchanges

Creating the things is only a first step

From Pandora radio to those paper coffee cup sleeves to the neighborhood laundromat, states are searching for creative ways to advertise their new health insurance exchanges to people who may not know much about how to get covered next year under the health care law — and who may not like what they've heard.

No state has yet seemed to rope in the star power that Massachusetts got when the Boston Red Sox helped pitch that state's exchange a few years ago. But California has drawn up plans to advertise at places like soccer games and community colleges. A few other states, so far mostly in the West, are using part of their federal exchange grants to hire public relations firms tasked with spreading the message to hard-to-reach groups, like non-English speakers and younger Americans who don't think they need health coverage.