Obamacare Ads To Appear On 7-Eleven Receipts
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Information about how to sign up for Obamacare is to appear on the bottom of receipts for those using PayNearMe.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between HHS and PayNearMe, an electronic cash transactions company. The partnership was put in place in an effort to reach financially undeserved and cash-preferring customers in the bid to increase Obamacare enrollments, according to a press release.
The agreement unites HHS with PayNearMe and 7-Eleven, Inc. in an initiative to print information about Open Enrollment at the bottom of receipts.
PayNearMe is the electronic cash transaction network that enables consumers to pay rent and utility bills, repay loans, buy tickets, make online purchases and do much more with cash. According to the FDIC, 28 percent (34 million) of U.S. households are financially underserved.
“Leveraging developments from technology companies like PayNearMe helps us to reach our consumers where they are, with the information they need to sign up and re-enroll in quality, affordable care through the Health Insurance Marketplace,” Secretary Burwell said in the release. “With this partnership, we are using digital platforms to place Open Enrollment information in the hands of consumers who need it.”
According to CNS News, Burwell – who witnessed a demonstration of the PayNearMe service at a 7-Eleven store in Washington, D.C. – said the ads will appear on receipts for customers who use the service at all 7,800 7-Eleven stores nationwide. “Need health coverage?” it says at the bottom of the cash-transaction receipt. “You can sign up for an affordable plan at HealthCare.gov between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15.”
The HHS statement explains that these reminders at the bottom of PayNearMe receipts will help provide health coverage information to traditionally hard-to-reach consumers. Because PayNearMe receipts serve as a consumer’s proof of payment for important items such as rent, loans and utilities, they are more likely to be inspected and retained than a traditional receipt.
PayNearMe also allows cash-preferring consumers to pay with cash for online purchases and more at participating 7-Eleven stores and other retail stores across the U.S. Once a payment is accepted, the business being paid is notified immediately and the consumer receives a receipt as proof of payment.
“Banked or unbanked, cash or plastic – no matter what your preference, everyone can benefit from affordable healthcare,” said Danny Shader, PayNearMe’s founder and chief executive officer. “By partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services, we can help generate awareness of this open enrollment process among consumers.”
Burwell has set an Obamacare enrollment target of 9.1 million for 2015, less than the 2015 enrollment estimate of 13 million released this past spring by the Congressional Budget Office.