BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Labor leaders insist it is not an election ploy, but an AFL-CIO TV ad blitz that began here Wednesday targets U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot for not supporting a Democratic-sponsored "patient bill of rights."
It is an issue Democrats and organized labor hope to use to regain control of the U.S. House this fall, and Mr. Chabot, a Republican, is locked in one of the toughest congressional election contests in the country against Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who favors the Democratic plan.
Mr. Chabot's 1st Congressional District is one of 21 around the country where the AFL-CIO is running a 30-second television spot that urges viewers to call their representatives and urge them to support a plan supported by President Clinton and Democratic congressional leaders that would strictly regulate health maintenance organizations (HMOs).
The AFL-CIO has spent at least $50,000 to air the 30-second commercial at least seven times a day on four Cincinnati network TV stations.
"This has nothing to do with the congressional elections," said Deborah Dion, an aide to AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. "This is about an issue before Congress that our members care very deeply about."
But Chabot campaign manager Shannon Walker Jones said the campaign had been waiting for the AFL-CIO to begin firing at the incumbent in the Chabot-Qualls race. Two years ago, the AFL-CIO spent nearly $1 million in the 1st District on TV ads that criticized Mr. Chabot's position on a wide range of issues.
"Yes, we expect to hear more from organized labor," Ms. Jones said. "History is a good indicator of what will happen in this campaign."
The TV ad running on Cincinnati stations is the same one the labor organization is using nationwide. A similar version in running on a Charleston, W.Va., TV station thanking U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, for his support of the Democratic plan. Mr. Strickland is locked in a tough re-election battle with Ohio Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister in Ohio's 6th District.
The ad running in Cincinnati starts with a shot of a registered nurse at a busy nursing station, saying that while she "loves nursing," the job is "so much harder than it's ever been."
"These bureaucrats from the insurance companies; they routinely deny care and they make decisions that only doctors should be making," the nurse says.
In the commercial, a narrator says that the insurance industry "is spending millions to block a law in Congress that would protect our rights -- and our lives -- in the new world of HMOs and managed care." It urges views to call Mr. Chabot at an 800 number and "tell him to stand up for us and support the Patient Bill of Rights Act."
When the number is called, an AFL-CIO automated-switchboard routes the caller to his or her member of Congress.
Organized labor is supporting a "patient bill of rights" bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., that is close to what was proposed by Mr. Clinton earlier this year.
The Democrats' plan would give more authority to doctors to make treatment decisions, would allow consumers to choose their own specialists and guarantee the right to emergency room care. Wednesday, Chabot press secretary Gary Lindgren said Mr. Chabot would be a co-sponsor of a House Republican version of HMO reform to be introduced today.
The House Republican version is expected to be less sweeping than the Democratic bill and similar to a proposal put forward by Senate Republican leaders Wednesday.
It would allow patients to take disputes with HMOs to an outside arbitrator, but the rulings would not have the force of law. The Democrats' version would give consumers greater ability to take HMOs to court.
"Steve is very supportive of making health care more affordable and more accessible," Mr. Lindgren said. "But you have to look at the cost impact on people. You don't want people to lose their coverage because employers are forced to drop health care plans."
