WebMD Quietly Hired to Promote Obamacare

WebMD, the world’s second-most-popular website for health advice, has very quietly secured a government contract in which it agrees to promote Obamacare and educate doctors about it.

Representatives of the website have argued that this does not constitute a conflict of interest, since WebMD would be allowed autonomy to present its own take on medical news and advice, and this particular government contract affects only its private portal for doctors. That is, for now. A contract for educating the public about Obamacare is also under way.

And actually, even the potential for government money was already affecting WebMD before it had secured the contract. When Obamacare finally rolled off the factory floor (a little worse for the wear), WebMD was among the first sites to coo its praises. And the Obama administration also had some nice things to say about WebMD. Let the mutual back-scratching commence. The Washington Times reports:

When the website announced its online portal in August, Mrs. Sebelius provided a quote for the company’s press release saying the Web page would educate consumers and help “improve the quality of healthcare for millions of people across our nation.”

Weeks later, the company received a $4.8 million task order on an existing contract from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to educate health care professionals about parts of Obamacare, records and interviews show.

And this isn’t the first time WebMD has sold its thin veneer of “unbiased independence” to advertisers. Recently, the site came under fire for posting an online “health screening” test on mental health, in which absolutely 100% of survey-takers wound up being told they were “at risk for major depression.” What survey-takers didn’t necessarily understand was that the health screen was sponsored by Eli Lilly (the huge pharmaceutical company that makes the anti-depressant Cymbalta). This was a promotion for depression drugs, not really an independent service to consumers.

If WebMD is comfortable selling out to the drug companies, I can’t imagine they will show more compunction concerning the civil government. In order to keep their government contracts, it is very likely they will say whatever they are told to say. Bottom line: I would avoid WebMD in general. They are not a trustworthy or independent source for medical advice.

122 responses

    • You and a few dozen other wacko birds. Web md guys will rue this day. Rev up your scooters. Fax blast everyone. coup today….could be. Is this an impeachable offense. Surely. Call sheriff Joe. See what he thinks. Maybe Señor Cruz will help. He could have a faux FILUBUSTER.

      • I think I speak for many when I make a friendly suggestion that you shut the f*ck up instead of making more of a fool of yourself. By the way, It’s FILIBUSTER, you uneducated, ageist ingrate.

      • you might want to floss Obama’s pubic hairs from your teeth before opening that dumb assed mouth of yours!

        • Hey, don’t send him here! LOL There ARE some GOOD Christian Republican Constitutionalists in CA too! Me! Raising hand! I live in the Bay Area. I can’t help it if it’s full of liberal loons! I’m not one. We don’t need more! We have enough of them to deal with now!

          • Sorry about that, that was thoughtless of me, I thought with the surplus you have 1 more wouldn’t be noticed. Let’s send him to china, he should fit right in.

      • A national boycott will work just fine. Thanks but we certainly do not want advice from a mindless liberal.

      • Ga-Huh…that’s just stoop-id. How do I get my scooter in a faux machine? Mr. Loyal Texan…exactly where in Texas are you supposedly residing. Do you wrap aluminum foil around your head to keep the aliens out? Do you find that the dull side or shiny side works better. Make sure you leave a space to breath.

        • he uses two layers of tin foil, shiny side in on one, shiny side out on the other, never can be too safe!

      • Another faithful Obama minion here again I see. Too bad Obama is even losing the young vote; the millennials are even turning against him. Rats deserting the sinking ship and I give you credit for being the die-hard knuckle-dragger Obama fan that you are

      • Loyal Texan is a troll, he may even be the resident troll, Mr Bob, AKA Barbie, as the comment styles are very close, uninformed liberal drivel, at best, they think their so witty, but all they do is expose their ignorance on all sorts of issues.

      • You know, if you were serious, you could just have said something like, “In spite of this, I think that I will continue to trust WebMD because of all of the good information I have received in the past, and encourage others to do so as well.” But no, you had to make an idiot of yourself.

        Because of this, I think that that Mayo website will have to increase its capabilities.

  1. WEB M.D. GONE FROM MY P.C. SORRY TO SAY IT BUT I DONT LIKE OBAMA KISS ASSES AND OBAMAS HATRED FOR US AMERICANS, FROM THE SOCIALIST, MARXIST….. NOBAMA NO MORE. THANK YOU AND GOOD BYE…

    • If only more people would do that to show the power of the people we might not have half the trouble we have.l GOOD FOR YOU

  2. Hopefully all right wing wacko birds will boycott Web Md and rhen be subject to death panels. When this happens be sure to keep the twisted sisters updated so they can post (aka Sarah and Michelle….señor Cruz may also be interested). I’m a volunteer to help people with ACA. helps a bunch of people sign up this week, with great plans and excellent prices. All were very happy. Website worked really smoothly. Know y will hate to hear that.

      • Bruce, they have probably never seen Socialized medicine in action, if they did, they would NOT promote it.. I did in Oct, in the UK. Cannot get the image out of my mind, from seeing the patients in the hospital.. Way to sad. (61% is taken out in taxes from there check) and they still pay for the medicine.. that is from someone that lives there.. O.M.Gosh..

    • I guess when you sign up your illegal friends they should be happy, and you are right Free is an excellent price.

    • Happy to see you still cheer leading the failed obamacare because now you and your friends get to pay for it. Have your premiums and deductibles doubled or tripled yet? If not they will soon. So happy for the mindless liberals who keep pushing failed policy hoping for something that will never come. Let me put it to you straight; obama could care less about you or healthcare.

  3. WebMD was exposed a long time ago as just another sneaky advertising campaign for big pharma. They had a pill to cure any problem you had and the questions were skewed to give answers that “proved” you had whatever medical problem you were researching.

  4. I’ve notice how invasive they have been lately and I haven’t been getting on as much. As of THIS post here… it will be the end of all my participation in WebMD… period. There are other med information websites. I’m going from here to WebMD and cancel all my subscriptions, etc. Thanks for this information.

    • Yup, we sure do boycott more and more these days. We really should — it’s practically our only recourse to express our displeasure to those who do what they want without the least consideration for their constituents, customers, clients, or even just the general public.

      Subscribe to http://www.onemillionmoms.com to keep track of what companies need “talking to.”

  5. Hit WebMD facebook page and post your sentiments for ALL TO SEE. Same on your FB page, share, share, share!!!

  6. Never had anything to do with them and won’t now. Just like AARP — they’ve burned the bridge between us.

  7. You guys are getting more whacko every day.

    Would you stop visiting a news site, because they accepted government ads to announce the opening of a new highway?

    Obamacare is a government service, just like that highway, and as such, should to promoted to those that cause benefit from it. Just because you idiots would rather left a hospital drive you into bankruptcy rather than admit a democrat is helping you, doesn’t mean everyone else it that stupid.

  8. I’ve used these people before as 1 of many sources of information — no more.

    If this trend continues, there will be very, very, very few honest businesses left for regular hardworking conservative Americans to use.

  9. I always kind of suspected they were just salesmen for big pharma. Confirmed now. What a surprise,
    that they’d also get into bed with the biggest dog, with the biggest fleas. Their “secret” is out now.

  10. So, with our hard earned tax money, they use our own money to manipulate and con us to believe the crap that is known as ObamaIdon’tcare and CAN’T afford Health care TAX, that does NOTHING to make me healthier or receive quality care???? You tell me…. this is a government that truely hates its own citizens and is doing everything it can to destroy this country!!!!

  11. WebMd, cancel me from anything that anything to do with WebMD at all. No newsletter. Nothing. Blank. You can keep your doctors, advice and anything else. Period. How dare you use the American people for obummercare. Never ever send me one bit of information. webnd ou have lost the trust of the American people who looked to you for advice. Is the almighty dollar worth losing the trust of the American people.

  12. Web MD, the AMA, and all of MA. is prostituting themselves for an ounce of gold, I find it hard to respect anyone who calls themselves a liberal. There are no more democrats or liberals only progressive/communists and we, the American people, are the the bottom rung on proletariat ladder. They think we should give our souls and blood to these ingrate snots.

  13. WebMD must have got his schooling in Cuba, and who ever he is he must be kin to Pelosi, and has not read the entire Obama care Bill.
    I guess WebMD must stands for “we must deliver the Obama BS”. They should talk to real doctors before they run their mouth.

  14. Cancel me from anything that has anything to do with WebMD at all. No newsletter. Nothing. Blank. You can keep your doctors, advice and anything else. Period. How dare they use the American people for obummercare. I do not want one bit of information from them. They have lost the trust of the American people who looked to them for advice. Is the almighty dollar worth losing the trust of the American people. How can anyone believe anything they say if they are being paid by obummerdon’t care.

  15. if Obamacare worked we would not have to spend more of our money for something that we do not want. We lose on both ends.

  16. This explains a lot. For a long time now it’s been looking more and more like both WebMD and Medscape have been drinking large quantities of Obama Kool-Aid!

  17. I still don’t understand why anyone has to promote or sell a piece of legislation that, as it has been stated so emphatically and rudely by Democrats, is “the law of the land” and is mandated!!! Oh, is it the fact that Obama isn’t getting the number of healthy young people that Obama and Democrats thought (planned on) would be stupid enough to just enroll, because their darling President said to, aren’t enrolling?? Is it that the law was depending on those same healthy young people to help pay the bill for the older, sicker people?? Once again, the Democrats didn’t think things thru because these same healthy young people are, according to their law, allowed to stay on their parents policies!!

    But all of these people and companies that have taken up Obama’s charge to promote / sell Obamacare have also lost my business and respect because of their indiscretions and irresponsible decisions!!!

  18. I have never used WebMD, and now I probably will not start. Too bad a good source of information has been corrupted with federal money.

  19. What a big disappointment. Now they’re Political. This Administration is gobbling up every site they can to propagandize anyone who might be looking for personal information. I won’t be using them again.

  20. How do I get this crap off of my iPad? Don’t want anything to do with anybody or anything that promotes ACA! I thought webmd was a responsible application but guess not!

  21. No more use for WebMD. As a professional resource, I would expect web MD would maintain neutrality. Guess not ! Anyone can be bought these days.

  22. Well, we now know how their Bread is Buttered. So, So Self Serving. I will Not Visit This Socialist website again.
    I am Sure they will volunteer to be appointed to The Death Panels. I wonder what Color Pill they will recommend for us All.

  23. Web MD, Dr Phil, Dr Oz, Dr Oprah, Dr Obama—all racist losers. I’ll remind my patients to turn elsewhere too.

  24. The next step, he is going to invite all Kenyan’s, to Register, so HE can through a few more “made-up number of applicants”, to “justified” how succesful the “fool” is…
    Just wait and see…

    GOD SAVE OUR COUNTRY!

  25. While I agree with the majority of the sentiments posted so far – there is an old saying………..”the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I’m going to stick around a while and see what they’re up to. Won’t be doing any surveys or anything like that.

  26. Well, they’d have to get a sane site like WebMd to back their sorry BS. Puts WebMd in a bad light–bye-bye, WebMd.

  27. webmd is and always has been a liberal piece of trash, they will promote anything liberal. can not be trusted for truth on anything

  28. Done with WebMD! Anyone who supports BO-care supports socialism, redistribution of wealth, Marxism, Communism, AND OBAMA!

  29. This is exactly what I would have expected. It’s not like WebMD is some impartial agency dispensing the best advice possible – WebMD is a 100% shill for the medical industry, an industry that kills about 200,000 yearly – injures another 1-2 million. I just don’t see why anyone is surprised.

  30. WEB MD is a dump!
    retired expat (10.25 years) MD: NBME; ABIM; ABNM; ABR w/spec comp NR and 46 + years in medicine

  31. That’s a shame. It’s a useful website for practical information, but if they’re going to start shilling Obamacare…

  32. I had correctly determined years ago that the Muslim-Marxist’s private slush fund i. e. our stimulus package would be used by him to cement his power by using it in this way. He is the new Hitler, make no mistake about it! He is a despot of the worst kind and must be made to go. Sheeple had better start realizing the worldwide movement of communism as been successfully resurected; you have the – in my opinion, anti-pope and I’m Catholic – new pope espousing a Marxist theology, an avowed communist has just become mayor of New York City and of course the Muslim-Marxist in the “Ouhouse” and the communist party USA i. e. the democrats! It will be a tragedy because other than the brave M. Savage of talk radio there isn’t another voice in the media that correctly uses the words communist and communism to define the mess that we are in and until other punk-^ss conservative pundits with the public forum get onboard and start alerting the ef’n sheeple about this most dire situation then the march to a third world totalitarian state will continue at warp speed! WAKE UP, WISE UP, RISE UP!

  33. So long WebMD, you have sold your soul for “pieces of silver”! Some of us counted on you, but you have turned out to be no better than aarp, progressive insurance, etc..

  34. Any ally of Obama is an enemy to a free American. I’ve made my last visit there –didn’t much find many reliable answers there anyway.

  35. Depression???? Is it any wonder, these days, that people are becoming depressed? There is a reason people are becoming depressed…they can’t call their lives their own any more. There is government interference of some sort (no matter how small) EVERYwhere.

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