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Obama Turns Attention to Skeptical Seniors
August 26, 2010
Is $250 enough to convince you to support President Obama’s health care law? The Democrats are hoping it’s enough to sway seniors from their mistrust of the law.
According to recent polls, more than half of all senior citizens oppose the law. The Kaiser Family Foundation found “45% of seniors who said they were most likely to vote in the midterm election said they were either much more likely or somewhat more likely to vote against a candidate who voted for the law.” (Emphasis added)
So, Democrats are using their favor technique – spending money – to try and sell seniors on ObamaCare before midterm elections.
Firstly, they’re sending $250 checks to Medicare recipients with high prescriptions costs. “The checks arrive with a letter addressed directly to each beneficiary and signed by Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama's health secretary,” The Associated Press reports.
Sebelius’s letter tells seniors “The money is ‘to bring you some needed relief on your prescription drug costs...the first step toward closing your coverage gap.’ Then comes the pitch: ‘Stay tuned for more information ... on how this new law will help make Medicare more financially secure and provide you with higher quality and more affordable health care.’”
Seniors the AP interviewed remained skeptical of the law; one interviewee said her check “barely made a dent.”
Secondly, the White House has hired actor Andy Griffith to promote the new health care law. At a cost of $700,000 to taxpayers, President Obama has launched a new ad campaign which will air on Lifetime, Hallmark, Weather Channel, CNN and CNN Headline News. In the commercial (which can be viewed below) the star of The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock reassures seniors, “With the new health care law, more good things are coming…”
Mitch McConnell, however, says seniors have good reason “to be skeptical” of the bill.
“[T]hey were also told that if they liked their plan, they could keep it. Yet now we know that millions of seniors will lose the Medicare Advantage benefits they have and like as a result of the Democrat health care bill. Americans never wanted this bill, and they’re reminded every day why they opposed it in the first place.”
The Anneburg Public Policy Center calls the ad “misleading” on its site, FactCheck.org. “[T]he truth is that the new law is guaranteed to result in benefit cuts for one class of Medicare beneficiaries — those in private Medicare Advantage plans.” For a full analysis of the ad, visit their site here.
Based on the latest poll numbers, the Democrats will need more checks and more commercials to convince anyone to support this law. This week’s Rasmussen Reports survey on the health care law shows 60% of all Americans want the bill repea
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