Where’s the Obamacare cover girl? That’s the big mystery heading into Monday, as the now nearly iconic smiling face of the happy Obamacare enrollee — who later earned the nickname “Glitch Girl” — has disappeared from the HealthCare.gov website.
In her place stands four generic computerized icon images.
The mysterious disappearance occurred sometime on Sunday, Fox News reported.
The four icons display links to four different messages about President Obama’s health care reform. One suggests a telephone call to learn about Obamacare; another, a letter; a third, a chat with friends; and the fourth, a visit to the website — that last, a bit odd, given users are already on the website.
Members of the media had been searching the identity of the covergirl— but in vain. And it’s not known why her face has been removed. But it could be because of the vitriol that her image has unleashed from frustrated members of the public who have tried, and failed, to enroll online in Obamacare.
Fox News reported that blogposts, social media sites and even simple tweeted comments had progressed from mocking to cruelty in tone, pointing anger in some cases at the girl. A sample of the social media posts that have plagued in recent days: “Congrats, vapidly smiling https://Healthcare.gov splash page stock photo girl! You’re now the most despised face on planet Earth,” tweeted David Burge, Fox News reported.
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Meanwhile, while some have speculated that the girl is not real, but rather a computer-generated face, Richard Olague, spokesman for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, says that’s not true.
“The woman featured on the website signed a release for us to use the photo, but to protect her privacy, we will not share her personal or contact info with anyone,” Mr. Olague said, in Fox News.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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