CAHI, Kerry Tap Anger About Major Medical Costs

By Allison Bell

October 13, 2004 at 08:00 PM

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New campaign commercials are keeping the spotlight on health insurance issues.[@@]

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance, Alexandria, Va., is running a radio campaign in Maine that blames the state's laws governing individual and family health insurance for sky-high coverage rates.

The CAHI ad points out that typical family coverage might cost $2,200 per month in Maine but only $250 per month in Connecticut. The CAHI ad talks about a bill proposed by Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., that would let residents of one state cross state lines to buy health coverage in another state.

"We wanted Mainers to know that help is on its way ? from Congress, not their state leaders," Dr. Merrill Matthews, CAHI's director, says in a statement about the radio ad.

Meanwhile, the Kerry-Edwards campaign has introduced "Leading," a 30-second television spot that accuses President Bush and his supporting of distorting Kerry's proposal for health insurance reform.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic presidential nominee, has proposed setting up a federal catastrophic health reinsurance program for employers and giving uninsured individuals the right to join the health plan that covers members of Congress.

In the new spot, a narrator describes Bush and his supporters of accusing Kerry of proposing a plan that would provide "less access, fewer choices and long waits."

"Wait a minute!" the narrator says. "That's what we have now, under George Bush. It's Bush who let health insurance companies overrule your doctor."

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