New advert questions entrusting health care reform to the same people who created the banking crisis

A new ad appearing in today's New York Times asks if "we will let conservatives do to health care what they did for banking?" The ad is the fifth in a seven-part campaign series sponsored by the Institute for America's Future encouraging Americans to demand a real debate focused on major crises facing the nation.

The ad says people across the country are shaping the health care debate through Health Care for America Now, a new coalition of unions, health care advocates and think tanks, including the Institute for America's Future. HCAN is asking candidates to let their constituents know where they stand on health care. The coalition is also airing $4 million in ads in local markets.

Institute for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey said Americans may be shocked to learn the details of the conservative plan because it dismantles parts of the health care system that actually work for people.

"America's health care system is in meltdown, and shrinking people's access to it will only make the problem worse," said Hickey. "Nearly 46 million Americans have no health insurance and under the conservative plan, about 20 million more may find themselves in the same boat. More will pay higher premiums. Medical costs are the leading cause of bankruptcy, so one medical crisis can easily tip a family over the edge In these fragile economic times, it's foolhardy and downright hardhearted to raise the cost of health insurance."

Every year, tens of millions of Americans go uninsured for long periods - when a layoff, a divorce, or illness disrupts their ability to pay for coverage. Forty-one percent of working Americans earning $20,000 to $40,000 a year lacked insurance for at least part of 2007. Millions more are seriously underinsured, though many don't realize it since insurance are secretive about what they refuse to cover until patients actually need the care.

The full text of this week's ad follows:

WILL WE LET CONSERVATIVES DO TO HEALTH CARE WHAT THEY DID FOR BANKING?

#5 in a series

A Debate Worthy of a Great Nation in Trouble

As if our health care system were not in deep crisis already, conservatives want to make it worse.

116 million Americans are now uninsured, or underinsured, or financially vulnerable to unexpected medical costs-now the #1 cause of family bankruptcies. Those who have insurance are paying higher costs for policies that often have gaping holes in coverage. And insurance companies flat-out refuse to sell coverage to those already sick.

In today's financial crisis and economic slowdown, millions more will lose jobs and health coverage, increasing the demand for change. But the cure conservatives are selling is worse than the disease:

They propose to tax, as income, the health benefits that 160 million people get on the job. This is purposely designed to destroy the incentive for companies to provide health insurance to their workers.

The EPI Policy Center and other experts predict that 20 million Americans would lose good employer-sponsored group health insurance. Instead they'd be left on their own-perhaps with a partial tax credit-trying to buy inferior and expensive coverage directly from deregulated insurance companies. Anyone already sick will have one hell of a time finding insurance at any price.

Of course conservatives say this is all for the good-forcing us into "the free market" to shop for the cheapest policy. But for most it just means life gets harder. That's why people across the country are joining with Heath Care for America Now to demand a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all.

Health care is a right. We need clear rules requiring private insurance companies to cover everyone - even those with pre-existing conditions. And we need the security of knowing we can keep our current health plan, or we can choose a public plan like Medicare, so we're not at the mercy of the same profit-driven companies that got us into this mess!

This debate can't be left to insurance lobbyists and politicians. Get involved. A revitalized democracy is our best path to health care for all.