HHS gets editorial approval over sponsored content
Elizabeth Harrington
The Washington Free Beacon
9/25/2014
WebMD has received nearly $14 million to promote Obamacare, as part of a government initiative designed to get Americans to turn to “official information” on the health care law.
The contract amount is much higher than was previously known, new documents revealed on Tuesday…
…A spokesperson for WebMD told the Washington Free Beacon the health care reform section is not part of the contract.
“It is first important to point out that no government agency, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Health & Human Services (HHS) or any other third party funded the creation of WebMD’s editorial content (videos or otherwise) that appears in the WebMD Health Care Reform Center,” said Michael Heinley, vice president of corporate communication for WebMD. “The WebMD Health Care Reform Center provides original, independent editorial content produced by WebMD.”
“With regard to editorial content, WebMD has strict editorial practices that ensure the content we produce is unbiased and done so independent of any third party involvement or control,” he said.
Heinley said the editorial section is completely separate from “sponsored programs,” for which they have been paid as part of its contract with HHS…
The entire article is at The Washington Free Beacon.
