Health Care For America Now

HCAN to Senate Negotiators:
Meaningful Reform Must Include Strong National Public Health Insurance Option to Drive Competition, Offer Choice, and Keep Private Insurers Honest

***Watch the Ad: HealthCareforAmericaNow.org/Freestyle***

Washington, DC – As Senate negotiations intensify over the future of the public health insurance option, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – is releasing a new national television ad emphasizing that comprehensive reform that lowers costs and keeps the insurance companies honest must include a strong national public health insurance option.

 “The choice is clear – if the insurance industry maintains its monopoly on our health care, it wins and the American people lose,” said Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now. “Health insurance reform means giving people the choice of a public insurance plan so we’re no longer at the mercy of private insurance.”

Earlier today, HCAN criticized one reported public health insurance option “compromise” - having national nonprofit insurance plans regulated under the Office of Personnel Management, similar to the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan.

HCAN’s statement read, in part, “Using nonprofits to replace a public option won’t work.  In fact, with half of people in private insurance currently enrolled in nonprofit plans, they are part of the problem. As for FEHBP, it too has failed to control health care costs, doing just as badly as private insurance and with much higher costs than Medicare. HCAN urges the Senate to enact legislation that includes a national public health insurance option, which is now part of the legislation introduced by Majority Leader Reid, H.R. 3590.” Read the entire statement here.

The new TV ad titled “Freestyle” depicts the fight for reform as lower costs, true choice, and real competition swimming against a health insurance industry trying to kill reform and protect profits. The ad reminds Congress once again that if the insurance companies win, we lose. “Freestyle” begins airing on Wednesday December 9th and runs for a week on national cable and on broadcast TV in Washington, DC. The buy is about $350,000.

“Freestyle” Script:

VIDEO:

Fade up on footage of a swim race about to start.  Swimmers are on the blocks.  The gun sounds and they dive into the water.

Cut to a sequence of shots from the same race.  SUPERS appear in a ‘lane’ across the middle of the screen, moving horizontally, like the swimmers: 

Lower Costs
Choice
Real Competition

SUPER:  The Insurance Industry spending millions to protect their profits.

Images darken to almost black background for SUPER:  If the insurance companies win, We lose.

Transition back to shot of swimmer finishing the race and raising a fist in victory.  SUPER:  HCAN logo and chyron from previous spots.    AUDIO AND DOCUMENTATION:
The race is on.

Who’s going to win?
The health insurance companies or us?

We need lower costs, choice and real competition.
But the insurance industry is spending millions to stop reform and protect their profits.
Source: Public Campaign Action Fund, "Insurance and HMO Industries Spend Nearly $700,000 Per Day to Kill Health Care Reform Measures," September 15, 2009. Accessed at http://www.campaignmoney.org/HMO_insurance_spend_to_kill_reform.

Remember, if the insurance companies win, we lose.
Tell Congress we need good health care we can afford with the choice of a public health insurance option now.