In a latest attempt to increase public support for his health care law, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will meet with a group of mothers in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
The president will "discuss how health care could help their families," White House spokesman Jay Carney told USA Today.
"Moms are a key part of our ongoing outreach and enrollment efforts and have an important role to play in helping their adult children, family members, and peers to sign up for coverage" Carney said.
The Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, was launched Oct. 1. Since then, the Obama administration has faced criticism for canceled policies and the website's failure to sign up enough Americans for health care plans. More specifically, the administration fears not enough young, healthy Americans will sign up in time to balance the costs of the elderly who need more care, Yahoo News reported.
This is not the first time Obama has appealed to women. He's had their support since his re-election, but lately, even that demographic has been unhappy. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that in November, 49 percent of women said they had a negative opinion of Obamacare, compared to 33 percent who had a positive opinion, Yahoo News reported.
In the past few months the Obama administration heavily promoted that under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can't withhold coverage because of a pre-existing condition and children can stay under their parents plan until they are 26.
In preparation for Wednesday's meeting, female government officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, reached out to publications like Ebony, Glamour and Cosmopolitan, calling for women's support.
"Women are often the primary decision-makers on finances and health care for their families," a White House official told Yahoo News. "Moms have a huge influence on their kids and husbands and are a key demographic for the ongoing effort to make sure women and their families know the benefits."
