Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Harry and Louise are coming back to television screens across the country to talk about overhauling health care. This time, they've switched sides. Harry And Louise Back On TV, Supporting Health Care Reform:
TV ads featuring the fictional couple played a big role in derailing President Bill Clinton's effort to revamp the medical system in the 1990s. Back then, actors Louise Caire Clark and Harry Johnson played a middle-class couple worrying about the changes, and the ads were sponsored by the insurance industry, which was fighting Clinton's plan.
Now, they will appear in a $4 million TV campaign supporting a reshaping of health care, sponsored by Families USA, which champions affordable health care for families, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The two groups, often at odds, have joined forces this year to support some general principles behind revamping health care, such as making it more affordable for low-income people.
The ads begin airing this weekend and will run at least three weeks on national cable and network news shows.
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In the new commercial, the characters discuss a need for affordable health coverage that people can keep if they change or lose their jobs. They don't mention some of the issues dividing lawmakers, such as whether there should be optional government-run insurance or requirements that employers cover their workers, or how to pay for it.
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"A little more cooperation, a little less politics and we can get the job done this time," Louise says.