Health Care Reform Advocates Launch TV Ads in Maine
***Watch, view, and listen to the TV, Radio, and Print Ads.***
***View the petition to Sen. Snowe.***
Contact: Adam Goode, Maine People’s Alliance Organizer
c: (207) 991-7000 / o: (207) 990-0672
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MAINE - As the national political establishment turns to Senator Olympia Snowe to broker health care reform legislation, and a day before President Obama will address the nation to lay out his vision for reform, a coalition of health care advocacy organizations is meeting at the Bangor Public Library to launch new television and radio ads supporting health care reform.
The groups, part of the Maine Health Care for America Now coalition, hope the ads help focus the health care debate on real Mainers who have been victims of a broken health care system. “As a 25 year cancer survivor I worry about when I change jobs I’ll lose my health insurance,” says Lee Roberts, one of the Maine people featured in the ads. “We have to have reform that allows people to keep their health insurance if they like it but that forces the insurance companies to behave themselves.”
“Lee’s story makes the point that even people that do have health insurance can’t really trust it,” says SEIU State Director Phil Bailey. “Premiums and deductibles are rising rapidly and for-profit insurance companies are often looking for an excuse to drop coverage or deny care. We need a strong public health care option simply to keep them accountable.”
Health insurance premiums in Maine rose 90% from 2000 to 2007. It’s estimated that there were more than 1,700 bankruptcies as a direct result of medical expenses in Maine last year. In addition to the ad “Insured,” featuring Roberts, the organizations are also launching a radio version of a TV ad titled “Maine Small Business.” The ad features Kennebunk small business owner John Costin and will continue to air on TV stations across Maine as part of an advertising effort from the Maine Small Business Coalition.
“The status quo is unacceptable, especially for Maine’s small business owners,” says MPA Community Organizer Adam Goode. “I hear stories everyday from business owners in Maine who are
struggling to pay for private insurance. They’re center of Maine’s economy and their voices are some of the strongest in favor of real reform and a public option.”
***Watch, view, and listen to the TV, Radio, and Print Ads.***
***View the petition to Sen. Snowe.***
