Conservative Health Care Group Caught Fabricating Ad Controversy

As the fight over health care reform heats up, the teevee airwaves have become one of the battlegrounds. And the rivalry between pro-reform Health Care For America Now and pro-something-other-than-reform Conservatives For Patient Rights is aflame! And aflame with persnicketyness! CPR is bugging out big time, over this ad from HCAN:

And CPR thinks they've caught their rival in a tough spot over this. In a blog post today from "CPR Staff," the organization asserts that Comcast has "Order[ed] Misleading HCAN Ad About Rick Scott Off the Air."

After reviewing ads produced by Health Care for America Now that attack CPR Chairman Rick Scott personally, Comcast has determined that they are indeed misleading and have been pulled off the air. "Supporters of government-run health care were taught a lesson today - they can try to change the subject, but they can't lie to change the subject. Their misleading ads against me were a desperate attempt to change the subject. They don't want to debate the substance of what we want in health care reform -- choice, competition, accountability and personal responsibility - versus their goal which is a government-run health care system where bureaucrats, not patients make the decisions. We'll continue our fight to put patients and patients' rights first and bring true competition to lower costs," Scott stated. Now that Comcast has put an end to HCAN's misleading personal attack ad, it is time for the proponents of government-run healthcare to stop misleading the American people about the pitfalls of a government takeover, including fewer choices and longer waits for patients.

But is there any truth to this claim of Comcast laying the mad kibosh on HCAN? The Huffington Post contacted Jacki Schechner, National Communications Director of Health Care For America Now, and as it turns out, the ad was not pulled.

"Uhh, no," Schechner said, "The ad buy ran out on Wednesday." And far from being ordered down by Comcast, a second ad buy will soon see the spot returning to the airwaves. At Comcast's suggestion, HCAN will be making a single change to a single graphic on the original advertisement. "And because we stand behind the ad one hundred percent," Schechner says, "We will make Comcast's one suggested change and go back up with a second buy."

In a statement, Sena Fitzmaurice, Comcast's Executive Director for Corporate Communications and Government Affairs, backs up Schechner's side of the story: "To clarify -- Comcast has not pulled any ads produced by Health Care for America Now (HCAN) off our systems. The media buy for the ad in question expired on May 13. Comcast has asked HCAN to include a clarification in future versions of the ad."

And the change? It's not anything that alters the ad's premise: "It is literally nothing more than adding the Hospital Corporation of America logo to additional portions of the advertisement," Schechner says.

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Comments

[jbrantow]

This guy Rick Scott is such a liar and will stop an nothing...including the health of the US citizens....to line his own greedy pockets. Fraud, lies and whatever else it takes.

[Nyla785]

What was the conservative healthcare plan for America again? Oh yeah....do nothing...and make policies with bigger deductibles so MORE Americans can go bankrupt.

[jbrantow]

As I recall candidate John McCain said all people have to do is walk 30 minutes a day to stay healthy and out of the hospital. How did that work for his skin cancer?

[killmenow]

It worked out well. He has excellent health insurance, and I'm sure he wasn't even asked for a co-pay.

[PiscesPrincess]

oh, John McCain has been sucking from the tit of the U.S.Gov't for... since he was born.
His father and grandfather were both in the U.S. Navy. lol
He has no clue what it means to live in the real world.

[jazzman]

If Comcast pulls down the ad they'll lose me as a customer. I encourage my fellow Comcast subscribers to do the same. DSL is great anyway and why not Satellite? Let's make any of these people who aid and abet those who want to block health care reform pay and pay where it hurts. In their pocket books.

[HighInfoVoter]

RTFA

Comcast has suggested adding the HCA logo more in the ad and taken a second buy.

Keep those knees in check.

[jazzman]

I think I just saw a shot fired across the bow. It's time to fight back!!! No Harry and Louise this time. Let no accusation go unanswered. Let no misleading ad sit without a quick response.

Let's storm the gates America. It's time to take the health care bastille!!!! This is the real tea bag party!!

[DoTheMath]

Surely the "pro-something-other-than-reform Conservatives For Patient Rights" are anxious to retract their misstatement. Since they are so adamantly against misleading people, they must be mortified to find that they have done just that.

[HalEBurton]

Rick Scott can bark all he wants. He is a lame fraudster and only idiotic CONs care what he's barking about. Hope you spend millions, Rick.

[PiscesPrincess]

yeah, ill-gotten gains. He should be in jail. truly.

[Camel54]

I love Scott's argument that they want competition to bring prices down. We've had nothing but private, market competitive health care since America has existed and health care costs continue to skyrocket. You don't need to be an expert in anything to know that. You don't have to have a partisan side or listen to any particular radio host. Just look at the prices today compared to the prices ten years ago--up 80% while salaries are up only 20% (rough numbers). Yeah, basing people's right to be alive on market competition has worked out great. An entire industry built on treating diseases for a lifetime rather than cure anything b/c it's less profitable. Meanwhile, England, with its horrible socialism, has cured macular degeneration and developed electronic cures for other forms of blindness. Lucky for Mr. Scott and the other rich Republicans they'll be able to fly to England for those treatments as they age and face such problems.

[PATina]

If he and his organization wanted competition... then they would have no problem competing w/ a public option. They don't want competition.... they want collusion.

[killmenow]

Excellent point. Well said. "Competition vs. Collusion" is a concept that should be widely disseminated.

[PiscesPrincess]

PATina; Honey; Camel54 was exposing his dry wit. tongue in cheek .. You are right, he Doesn't really want competition. These CEO,s all meet in secret every year and decide how high to jack to prices. terrible.

[MajorKong]

I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! - Claude Raines

[rejoiceinit]

Alas...liars... do... LIE.

[Mintcondition]

http://www.capitolconnect.com/fairhealthcare/default.aspx?utm_campaign=FairHealthCare_Viral&utm_source=&utm_medium=TAF_Email&utm_content=&utm_term=&FriendID=271b3317-6d01-48c1-9d5d-119b9b4fbca0

Sign the health care reform petition above.

For the person with the lottery idea, I would send the whitehouse an email about it

www.whitehouse.gov

[jbrantow]

check out the above link site before you sign the petition......the logos at the bottom include "pharma" and "blue cross". Don't blindly sign anything until you examine the petition and it's representatives.

[unite4change]

Wasn't it the GOP who gave us our current healthcare system?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QkgUkM0o6Q

As you can see, it all about cheating Americans out of their money.

[BlackJAC]

Gop healthcare "plan": don't get sick or injured.

[SoccerNana]

Rick Scott, hmmm, let me see; he had to pay a fine of 1.6 BILLION dollars and was forced to step down from his position; but this crook still left with a GOLDEN PARACHUTE of 10 MILLION dollars!

Is he trustworthy? H_ll no!!!! He is still a snake.

[Periwinkle]

I've spoken to dozens upon dozens of people from countries with so-called "socialized" medicine and there wasn't a single person who would give it up in favor of the gouging we take by big insurance and big pharma in this country.

[backekuchen]

I've had insurance providers tell me I had to change doctors three times. My doctor of 15 years wasn't in their system. I've also had insurance providers tell me they would not allow a particular medication or treatment even after the doctor called them and explained why I needed them.

Scott can spend as much of his money as he wishes trying to convince me, but it won't work.

[mitsie]

I have Comcast and the problem really comes down to money. We need more choices in cable service so that if they run and ad, such as this, who we know is false, we can change companies. Comcast is so bid, they can' t even keep up with the phone, internet and tv services. It is appauling.

[XLintLuvR]

As much as I agree with you about competition, read the article again. Comcast didn't cancel their ad buy. The ad buy ran out. It was that CPR group that said that Comcast took it down. This info isn't coming from Comcast and should be taken with a grain of salt. I still say there should be more competition in cable providers.