The Trump administration cut the ACA advertising budget for the 2018 enrollment period by 90 percent, prompting advocacy groups dedicated to ACA outreach to use their own resources to try and make up for the lost advertising, according to The Hill.
Out2Enroll, a group focused on ACA outreach in the LGBTQ community, has allocated more resources toward Facebook advertisements in the wake of the budget cuts, though the organization's leadership is aware of the limited impact these efforts may actually have.
"Nothing comes close to making up for the loss of $90 million at the federal level, of course, but we're taking whatever resources we can and investing them," Kate Keith, a steering committee member of Out2Enroll, told The Hill.
The Trump administration said it cut the budget because people already know about the ACA, making outreach redundant, but advocates argue advertising is still very important in helping people enroll.
"We're putting more resources into that so we can hopefully reach more people and make sure they know about the deadlines and know the income-based tax credits are still available," said Erin Hemlin, the health care campaign director for a different advocacy group also mobilizing its advertising campaign called Young Invincibles, according to The Hill.
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