“Secretary of Explaining Stuff” kick-starts Obamacare campaign

(RealMoney) –  If the campaign to promote the nation’s new health care system wasn’t already underway, ex-President Bill Clinton made sure to kick-start it Wednesday -- less than one month before the law’s signature online marketplaces are set to go live. 

“I have agreed to give this talk today because I am still amazed how much misunderstanding there is,” the former president said in Little Rock, Arkansas.

His speech is expected to be the first in a series of high profile events encouraged or sponsored by the Obama administration in an effort to educate consumers about their options once the new insurance exchanges roll out October 1 (the uninsured have until March 31 to enroll or face a penalty).

Clinton, whom President Obama once joked should be appointed the "Secretary of Explaining Stuff," said the new law is “better than the current system.”  And despite recent criticism and robust partisan opposition, he added that lawmakers were still needed to help implement the new law effectively.   

“It is the law, and we’ve all got an interest in trying to faithfully execute the law,” Clinton said, touting its popular provisions like the ban on denials of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.    

After a series of missed deadlines, including the employer-mandate, as well as vocal opposition from business leaders and Republican House members, the Obama administration is trying to get back on track -- using the former president as part of its campaign effort.  

Clinton on Wednesday pointed to skyrocketing insurance and medical costs as a reason for reforms, noting that the U.S. currently outspends the rest of the world, contributing nearly 18% of GDP to health care.

But to make the reforms work, officials are keen on getting younger, healthier consumers signed up to offset the systems’ new costs.  

"To the extent that young, healthy folks stay out of the insurance markets, and leave the health insurance markets instead primarily to the older, the sicker, and those less able to take care of themselves, then you've got a market that's skewed," said Dr. Michael Sparer, Department Chair of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University.

Of the 7 million people projected to enroll, officials say they are hoping 2.7 million of them will be young and healthy to help prevent a spike in costs. This uninsured group of twenty-and-thirty-somethings are commonly referred to the "Young Invincibles," because they have previously shunned health insurance, often due to high costs.  

Those uninsured who do not buy coverage starting this fall should expect to face a fine of 1% of their annual income, or 95 dollars, whichever is greater.

"The financial penalty will at least motivate me to look deeper and harder at finding a general insurance plan,” said Josh Weitzner, an uninsured 35-year-old  bike messenger in Manhattan. “I don't know that's a motivating factor."

Depending incomes and other factors, like whether consumers smoke, Americans may be eligible for a government subsidy when purchasing new plans. Though premiums for younger consumers could also rise as the new law takes effect as a series of new consumer protections roll out.

Recent polling shows that most young people say coverage is worth the cost, though awareness is lacking.

"People don't know about it,” said Tracy Hanna, an uninsured Manhattan real estate agent. “I didn't know about it (and) people that I work with didn't really know what the details are."

About 42% of Americans were not aware that the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. 

(Watch: David Ariosto's piece on The Young Invincibles)