Did anti-ObamaCare ads actually boost health care enrollment?

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

ObamaCare enrollments were noticeably higher in states that also saw the most concerted anti-ObamaCare ad campaigns, according to a new Brookings report.

Brookings' Niam Yaraghi calculated per capita spending on anti-ObamaCare ads, and then compared it against the percentage of eligible ObamaCare enrollees who signed up for coverage. The results:

Of course, there are other reasons people signed up en masse in some states but not in others. Kentucky, for instance, had the most anti-ObamaCare ad spending — but it also boasted a fantastic state-run exchange website. Still, the Koch brothers and others who bankrolled the enormous campaign to curb ObamaCare enrollments can't be happy with the news they may have inadvertently undercut their own effort.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.

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