Gingrich, the House GOP whip, ponders how effective those seconds could be in an ad opposing the president’s health-care bill. “Just say, “Let us show you government health care in the North’.” Never mind that neither the Clinton plan nor its major Democratic rival, the Cooper Plan, proposes a Canadian-style system. Health-care ads, most designed to frighten more than enlighten, have been proliferating. Last fall NEWSWEEK dissected some early spots (Oct. 11, page 44); a sampling of the latest scare tactics:
“Everything is at risk” is the tag for a spot produced by the Project for the Republican Future, a Washington think tank. The ad strings together quotes for maximum shock: “There will be rationing” – The Wall Street journal. “A giant social experiment” – NEWSWEEK. The ad was aimed at opinion leaders inside the Beltway. “It would take $20 million to take it to the people,” says media adviser Alex Castellanos.
“Would you rather trust your life to an M.D. or an M.B.A.?” asks the American Medical Association. The message here is that medical care will be usurped by government bureaucrats who care more about cost control than good care. The AMA is running a series of print ads in major publications under the heading THIS IS THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. Doctors are encouraged to hand out copies to their patients. What the ads don’t say is that medical decisions are already often made by insurers and hospital administrators.
“We couldn’t choose a plan that’s not on their list” is Louise’s plaintive cry. She and Harry are the gratingly Middle America couple featured in ads underwritten by the Health Insurance Association of America. They fret about being “forced” to buy insurance from “government monopolies.” But under the Clinton plan, health alliances would offer three choices, more than most people have today. The HIAA represents hundreds of smaller insurers, which would be driven out of business in Clinton’s plan. HIAA has already spent $14 million on ads, and it’s only February.
Democrats are fighting back with one of the most overworked rebukes of the ’90s: “They just don’t get it.” A new ad paid for by the Democratic National Committee captures four Republican presidential hopefuls (Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Carroll Campbell and Dick Cheney) declaring that there is no health-care crisis. Dole and Campbell have backed off from that claim, and many Republicans support some kind of health-care reform. But that hasn’t stopped the DNC from labeling the opposition as out of touch. Scare tactics are a lot more effective than droning recitations about the pros and cons of managed competition.
