The Alliance for Healthcare security, of which the National Committee is a member, has released the latest in a series of tv spots opposing repeal of the Affordable Care Act.  Watch the new ad here.  It’s worth the 30 seconds of your time.  

This latest one is probably the most powerful of the series, which began airing in December.  The opening narration pulls no punches. “Congress has taken the first step to rip apart our healthcare with no plan to replace it,” says the announcer.  The bulk of the ad features actual health care professionals in blue scrubs and white coats talking right into the camera about why repeal is such a bad idea.

“They don’t have a plan to insure the 30 million people who will lose their healthcare,” says Theresa, a registered nurse.  “No plan to cure existing conditions, like cancer,” says Michelle, another RN, while a third nurse states simply, “It’s gonna cause pain.”

The tagline is:  “Tell Congress we need a plan that protects our care.”

The ad is elegant, clean, and effective.  Pressure from advocacy groups and negative media coverage of the repeal efforts on Capitol Hill seem to be having an impact.  As the Associated Press reported today, some Congressional Republicans are starting to back away from repeal and talking more about what sounds like “repair,” which is something even President Obama and Democrats had always said they would welcome. The Associated Press describes “a softer tone that comes as [the GOP’s] march to fulfill a keystone campaign promise encounters disunity, drooping momentum and uneasy voters.”

Last week, Congressional Republicans seemed like they were on a tear to repeal – ramrodding through a budget resolution that would defund Obamacare with the promise of a replacement bill soon after.  Not anymore, apparently.  

“Republicans triumphantly shoved a budget through Congress three weeks ago that gave committees until Jan. 27 to write bills dismantling the law and substituting a Republican plan. Everyone knew that deadline meant little, but now leaders are talking about moving initial legislation by early spring.” – Associated Press

Seniors, especially, have a lot at stake in any repeal and replacement because of the Affordable Care Act’s improvements to Medicare – including free preventative screenings and wellness exams, the closing of the Medicare Part D prescription drug “donut hole,” and the extended solvency that the ACA provided to the Medicare Part A trust fund.  

Let’s hope that this continued ad campaign by the Alliance for Healthcare Security, and the voices of organizations like ours along with pressure from the public will convince the GOP that outright repeal without a replacement that protects the healthcare of all Americans is a really unhealthy choice.