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

[lesterbud]

As Hannity said - it is OK to lie if you believe in it strongly enough.

[jazzman]

Hannity ripped that off...from Joseph Goebbels.

[lesterbud]

One of his heroes I am sure.

[killmenow]

Hannity said that?? I don't think so.

[lesterbud]

I paraphrased - what he said was "it is ok to lie about something that you believe very strongly about".

[MimiGardner]

The countries (Canada, Britain) that Scott attacks for their "socialized" health care systems are mature democracies. If those systems are so bad, then the question is: Why don't the voters change them? Perhaps, it's because most people are satisfied with their "socialized" system and wouldn't choose an American-style system under any circumstances.

[kensp]

Anyone in Canada who ran for Parliament or any provincial legislature on a promise to do away with socialized medicine and institute a American style system would go down to a spectacular defeat. In reality they would not even be able to secure a nomination from any of the four major political parties. There are a handful of malcontents who gripe about it, but they are a tiny minority everywhere but in Republican funded ads in the United States.

I am still waiting for one of the wingnuts to explain to me why having coverage denied by a government funded health care insurance provider is "rationing" while having coverage denied by private HMO, which happens every day under the US system, is not. Anyone want to take a run at that one?

[missouriwatcher]

We just saw our new company insurance plan. My premiums, deductibles, and copays are about to double. When are we going to get REAL affordable health care in this country? The Prez, Congress, et al need to quit pandering to and playing patsy with these greedy crooks and do something right, and be quick about it!

[macbabe]

Us too, and also the Insurance companies (ours is United Health) are telling the doctors on what drugs to prescribe and how much at a time they can do it... they are scared and trying keep in control...

[newsmctado]

this is both the problem and the solutions. opponents of health care reforms argue that the government run plans will limit the treatments, medication, etc in the name of cost effectiveness. I'm sorry, but that's how private enterprise works. Anybody who doesn't think that insurance companies run on a cost effectiveness profit minded system are simply blind to the truth. The purpose of government run services is to provide a greater good at the cost of efficiency. If a free market, competition system would improve the health care market, we would have seen it. We've had a the price of insurance and health care rise for four decades, while the percentage of accepted claims and payouts has steadily reduced.

[gonbald]

My wife is a nurse. The hospital she works for started their own ins.co. Her premiums and copays are a lot higher than what they charge a large corporration in the area. Why?
MONEY yes. patient care no. (patients can go to hell - no care for no or not enough co pay) Dr. referral? has to be ok'd by business office.{ANOTHER FEE.}
I could go on, and on, and on but we don't have the time.
You got the idea. It's ALL ABOUT MONEY.

[mitsie]

Same goes for medicare. Our part D coverage for drugs went from $37 a month to $63 a month. Our co pays for new medications, that have no generic drug available, went up from $40 to $60. Our part A and B went up this year, and they TOOK AWAY most of the preventive medicine such as bone scans, pap smears, colonoscopies, lab tests, mammography etc etc. They now will only pay for these tests every other year and sometimes yearly. There are no annual physicals, and this is the biggest gripe I have. Perhaps we wouldn't get hospitalized for any condition which could have been prevented by good coverage. It costs us and the tax payers alot more for hospitalizations then the tests. WE NEED LEGISLATION TO CONTROL FOR PROFIT HOSPITALS!!!!!

[monoxboogie]

I'm not on health care by choice. I wish I were but I was paying 1600 a quarter for my services. Then the doctors I went to weren't in their system so I had to change. Then the doctors they sent me to had to perform surgery. Got to get the OK from the insurance company. What did they say? "Since it's not a life changing or threatening disease or symptom we will not cover you for this procedure". It was to alleviate a whole lot of pain that was keeping me from performing my job. Finally after 3 days of back and forth they finally agreed to pay fifty per cent. What am I paying them for? So I decided to opt out. Even with doc costs, med costs and plain old bad luck, my med bills are a fraction of what my premiums were. And yes, if I do get into an accident I'm jolly well S.O.L. but who knows if they would have covered me or stuck me with the bill anyways. This way, I'm responsible for my own payments and my own decisions about my health.

[NedroidPrime]

Wait, conservatives for patient rights?

Who was it that passed malpractice award caps....?

[Danny Lesh]

Ha! Well, there is the right to get screwed, which they seem to value pretty highly!

[Petey131]

To LIE is a conservative value!

[AuntiepoppyCock]

I'm shocked. =/

These liars and thieves have gotten use to pulling the wool and shield over the publics eyes. I'm sick of them!

[Budokan]

Conservatives lying? That's very hard to believe.

[grandma58]

I looked up the word conservative the other day to be sure it meant what I thought it did, since it is so often used to refer to republicans. I know many conservative democrats but I do not know, nor have I ever met a conservative republican.

[blood1]

As a reminder for everyone: the GOP and their "committees against Obama" ran ads relentlessly during the campaign that linked him to all sorts of "nefarious" sounding individuals, saying that he was "palling around with terrorists"...but no one from the GOP et al said a peep!

I'm all for truth...but not a one-sided truth...so this is pretty humorous that the GOP et al is crying foul...they are complaining a bit too much...as nothing in the ad was a lie!

I can only guess how each political faction of the media will spin yet another story about all the "truth mongering".

[smchp]

Let Scott spend his money! He will lose!

[zest]

Single payer national healthcare now.

[mitsie]

Yes, yes and yes.