"They look to us to protect them. Teach them. Tuck them in at night," says a soothing woman's voice in the America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids 30-second TV spot. "But for parents without health insurance, a visit to the doctor could be more than they can afford."
The ad campaign, which launched in regions nationwide this month, is calling on members of congress and their constituents to focus on a lower-profile political issue: healthcare for children. The ad asks legislators to continue their support of a State Children's Health Insurance Program proposal that aims to extend health coverage from 6.6 million low-income children to more than 9 million. President Bush vetoed the legislation when it was first proposed last year.
The TV spots are running in regions of Congressmen who supported SCHIP before it was vetoed. Each is tailored so the local politician is mentioned in his or her region's ad.
The commercial "is just pressing for continued support and also encouraging the constituents to reach out to their legislators and urging them to continue to support SCHIP," says Nicole Korkolis, Spokesperson at America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids, a nonpartisan organization of labor and business leaders. "It brings out the issue of SCHIP and how it really is effective in helping these children and how we need to continue. We have to keep the organization and funding because it expires."
In addition to the TV spots, the organization is also sending direct mail pieces to constituents in the selected regions. Though this is the first phase of the campaign, Korkolis says the organization is hoping to continue spreading the word until it reaches its goal. "We're not going to stop the campaign until all children have healthcare, so this is a commitment to that issue," she says.
"We're hopeful that we'll get more funding in the next couple months before the vote so we can continue and expand our efforts."
Marianne Aiello is a writer with HealthLeaders Media. She can be reached at maiello@healthleadersmedia.com.