New Health Care Ads to Pack a Punch at $1 Million Per Day

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer Reports: If the past few weeks are any indication, we’re in for a strong dose of partisanship this fall as interest groups on both sides of the health care debate spend millions on a media blitz to stir up supporters as the debate heads into the homestretch.

So far, two dozen groups have spent more than $46 million on TV ads in an effort to influence policymakers, says Evan Tracey, president of the nonpartisan Campaign Media Analysis Group.  

That’s nearly double what Tracey estimates stakeholders spent on ads during the failed health care reform effort of the early 1990s.

"We're going into a phase now [in which] very well funded proponents of health care reform are starting to turn this into more of a political issue," Tracey said. "Moving away from the ‘we need health care’ cheerleading message to demonizing opponents."

The average daily total spent on advertising has exceeded $1 million, according to CMAG. Supporters of health care reform have outspent opponents by nearly 2-to-1.

The shift towards political targets for the issue ads signals an attempt to use the health care debate as a way to energize voters, influence wavering lawmakers and raise the stakes of upcoming election campaigns. 

Tracey says his group has noted a recent flurry of health care reform ads in states like Maine, Louisiana, and Arkansas which are home to Senators holding key votes on health care and upcoming critical election battlegrounds in 2010.

“Some of the targets [of these ads] you wouldn’t expect to go change their votes,” said Tracey. “But [the ads] do go soften the ground.”

Over the weekend, a few of those same ads began popping up in swing House districts, like Washington’s 8th held by Republican Dave Reichert.  

But even in areas reliably Republican like Virginia’s 7th district, Obama-allied groups like Health Care for America Now are trying to apply pressure on Republican leadership. 

In one ad running in Virginia, a woman with cancer says Republican Rep. Eric Cantor hurt her access to care by voting against a measure to end the exclusion for preexisting conditions. "He wants me to fight cancer and the insurance companies? Fine. I’ll take you both on," she says.

Tracey says he’s not surprised that supporters of health care reform are turning up the heat.  

"These are much more political targets than we’ve been seeing,” he said. "Not necessarily folks who will change their votes, but their opposition could threaten their reelection."

The House is scheduled to begin its recess on Friday, the Senate a week later.

"The ad spending doesn’t move the needle at this point, but sets the table for what we’ll see this fall," Tracey said.