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WASHINGTON — A group seeking to influence Sen. Ben Nelson on health care legislation might want to figure out which state he represents.
The 60 Plus Association announced an ad campaign Tuesday targeting the Nebraska Democrat, but the group’s press release identified Nelson’s home state as Arkansas.
That would be the state represented by another key vote on health care, Democrat Blanche Lincoln. The group also is running ads in Arkansas, as well as in Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota and South Dakota. The group says it’s spending $2 million.
The 60 Plus Association touts itself as a conservative alternative to the senior citizens group AARP. But AARP says the group is a front for the pharmaceutical industry, which has provided funding for 60 Plus.
The ads highlight hundreds of billions of dollars worth of reductions in future Medicare spending that Democrats are planning to help pay for the health care legislation working its way through Congress.
The ad says the cuts could be “devastating,” and cite a government evaluation that found the Medicare reductions in the House-approved bill could reduce benefits and jeopardize access to care. The Senate begin debate on its version after Thanksgiving, and viewers are urged to call Nelson and tell him to oppose the Medicare cuts.
But Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson said part of the “cuts” are really “give-backs” resulting from deals struck by hospitals and drug companies to forgo future Medicare payments in exchange for the benefits they receive from having fewer uninsured patients.
Another large share of the “cuts,” he said, involve insurance companies competing for payments that they’re now guaranteed, a change that’s expected to save the government money.
“The bottom line, Sen. Nelson feels, is services for seniors will not be cut,” Thompson said.
Contact the writer:
202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
