Harry and Louise are back, this time for healthcare reform

WASHINGTON —Remember Harry and Louise, that iconic fictional couple who helped derail the Clinton administration’s attempt to reform the healthcare system and expand coverage to all Americans? They’re back. And this time, in an election-year bit of irony, they’re speaking for fundamental reform of the healthcare system, instead of against it.

A coalition of five diverse advocacy groups revived the advertising theme with a new, multimillion-dollar ad campaign that aired on national TV throughout the Democratic and Republican national conventions. The goal, backers said, is a major overhaul of the healthcare system.

“In light of ever-increasing healthcare costs and increasing numbers of people without health insurance coverage, Harry and Louise will urge the next president and Congress to put health care at the top of the domestic agenda,” the group noted in a statement.

In 1993 and 1994, opponents of government-sponsored, universal healthcare coverage aired a series of TV spots featuring the characters Harry and Louise in a successful campaign to defeat proposals by the Clinton White House for broader healthcare coverage and a larger government role in the healthcare system. The ads proved a highly effective tool in that campaign by raising alarms among millions of tax-payers about the costs and effectiveness of government-sponsored health care.

The new campaign’s backers are hoping Harry and Louise can be just as effective in pushing for change. Five national organizations are behind the spots: the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Noted Todd Stottlemyer, president and chief executive officer of NFIB, “Our nation’s job creators—the small-business owners and mom-and-pop stores in our communities—are struggling with unsustainable and ever-increasing healthcare costs.”