IWV has been proud to be in the forefront of the battle against a government takeover of health care. IWV worked tirelessly to highlight the consequences of government-run health care: higher health care costs, more bureaucracy, higher premiums, higher taxes, fewer job opportunities, less access to care, and lower quality of care. We've also tried to raise awareness that there are other, better ways to reform the health care system: reforms that put power in the hands of the people, trust patients and doctors to make life-and- death health decisions, and use market forces to control costs and encourage efficiency.
Here are some of the activities we've engaged in during the health care fight:
- A Compelling Television Advertisement: Our sister organization, Independent Women's Forum, created an advertisement featuring Tracy Walsh, a breast cancer survivor. Tracy had been given two treatment options at the time of her diagnosis, and in the ad Tracy tells her story and considers how her treatment options might have been different if we had a government-run health care system. The ad ran in multiple media markets during a critical period of the health care debate. In addition to this paid media effort, the ad enable some top-tier earned media appearances, with IWF representatives appearing on Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck, Fox & Friends, and Hannity's America; MSNBC's Morning Meeting with Dylan Radigan, and David Shuster & Tamron Hall; and more than 30 radio programs.
- Timely and Insightful Polling: In October, IWF commissioned a survey to better understand women's perspectives on the health care issue. The poll revealed that only 16% of women believe that health care should be Congress's top priority and that a majority (51%) were unsatisfied with what they have read, seen, or heard about the proposals being considered today.
- Massachusetts Special Election: IWV saw that Speaker Pelosi was not paying attention to the American people, so late in December 2009, we decided to make the Massachusetts Special Election about healthcare and the 41st vote. We succeeded, using doctor-recorded phone calls and radio ads, putting public opposition to government-run health care in the spotlight. After the election, IWV commissioned a poll surveying voters' attitudes in the election.
- Targeted Polling: In March 2010, to counter various national polls which claimed the American public liked the Left’s health care legislation, and which we believed were suspect, IWV conducted a targeted survey in 35 key U.S. Congressional Districts, which registered how deeply opposed constituents were to the proposed health care legislation when one didn’t just talk about benefits but also asked about the full cost, both financial and personal, of the legislation. Those surveys were hand-delivered to House members, enjoyed tremendous earned media coverage, and House members who received the research digested and began using the results immediately.
- Phone Calls, Radio Ads, and InnovativeTele-Town Halls: In February, IWV ran radio commercials in key Districts against Members who had voted for the House- passed bill, urging the public to call their Representatives and encourage them to vote against another health care bill. The weekend of the House vote on the health care bill, IWV conceived, arranged, and hosted 10 hours of an original way of doing tele-town hall meetings, featuring 15 Republican Members, including Whip Eric Cantor, GOP Conference Vice Chair Cathy McMorris Rogers, and Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price, covering 23 crucial districts, reaching more than 150,000 voters and leaving phone messages for an additional 200,000+.
- Provocative Websites: To raise public awareness of the corrupt process that was used to advance the health care legislation into law, as well as the many problems with the corrupt and fundamentally flawed bill, IWV created a series of provocative websites: http://somearemoreequal.com/, www.coburnspromise.com, www.bararckhatesthis.com, www.yourbossvotedyes.com, and www.speakerpelosihatesthis.com.
The battle over health care reform isn't over! IWV is dismayed that this terrible legislation that sacrifices so much of our individual freedom and gives so much power to Washington bureaucrats has now become law. Yet this is just one battle, not the war, over the future of our nation's health care system.
Click here to find out more about how IWV is working to REPEAL and REPLACE the new health care law and how you can help.