Conservative Group Launches Campaign Against Obama Health Reform Efforts
Conservatives for Patients' Rights on Tuesday launched a multimillion-dollar "multi-media battle" against increased government involvement in health care, "[f]iring some of the first shots in the coming showdown over health care," The Politico reports. According to The Politico, the group's goal "is to provide conservatives with a central organization to resist any move" by President Obama and congressional Democrats "toward universal health care."The organization is led by Richard Scott, the former owner of the Hospital Corporation of America. Scott said, "I want health care reform to happen but I want it the right way." He said that must include individual choice, competition between providers, giving patients ownership over their coverage and rewarding those who make healthy lifestyle choices.
Scott said the group would spend up to $20 million on the campaign, which includes Internet advertisements and three weeks of television and radio spots featuring Scott. The advertisements mostly will be aired on conservative talk radio shows and cable news channels. Scott, who already has used $5 million of his own money for the campaign, said he would consider contributing more.
In the first radio ad, Scott says, "Imagine waking up one day and all your medical decisions are made by a central national board," adding, "Bureaucrats decide the treatments you receive, the drugs you take, even the doctors you see." Scott continues by suggesting the possibility of a U.S. system comparable to those of Great Britain or Canada, which feature "national boards" and "waiting lists."
Proponents Already Mobilized
Proponents of Obama's health care reform efforts have started circulating information to discredit Scott, "a move that underscores the huge stakes involved in the issue," The Politico reports. In addition, liberals have launched Health Care for America Now, a coalition that is working toward guaranteed health care for all U.S. residents. According to Jacki Schechner, HCAN's communications director, the group is "fully operational, organized and mobilized to make sure Congress supports the president's plan to win quality, affordable health care for all this year." The Politico reports that HCAN has a $35 million budget in 2009, half of which they plan to use on advertising and "grassroots events" in Washington, D.C., and the districts of key lawmakers.
In addition, the Obama administration has indicated that it will resist any efforts by conservatives who attempt to label its health care reform plans as "socialized medicine," The Politico reports. In Obama's radio address on Saturday, he said he is prepared to confront anyone who attempts to halt progress on the administration's plans for health care reform (Martin, The Politico, 3/3).
