Mongiardo, an eastern Kentucky ear, nose and throat surgeon running against U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, uses his commercial to call a Bunning campaign ad "despicable, offensive and unfair."

"I won't sit by and watch an out-of-touch politician attack me for choosing to serve my neighbors in need because of the health care mess Bunning helped create," said Mongiardo, a state senator from Hazard.

Bunningbegan running an ad last week that criticizes Mongiardo for billing Medicaid $3 million.

Medicaid is the government health care program for the poor and disabled.

It is run by the states, which share its costs with the federal government.

The ad also identifies an opulent, brick, Georgian-style house as Mongiardo's home.

But the house in the ad is not where Mongiardo lives. And Mongiardo said the $3 million in Medicaid billing came over 13 years in a poor region of the state where he is the only doctor practicing his specialty.

"Sen. Bunning has crossed the line by running a false, negative attack ad," Mongiardo said.

Mongiardo's ad is running on stations around the state but not in Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky.

Bunning campaign manager David Young said Mongiardo "has been talking about his health care credentials all year, and we decided to help fill out his resume for Kentuckians in a lighthearted and contrasting way."

"But, on a more serious note, our opponent has been desperately attacking and harshly criticizing Sen. Bunning all year," Young said, "and we thought it was only fair to make sure the people of the commonwealth know our opponent's full record."

Young said Mongiardo has spent $700,000 of his own money on the campaign.

"There's nothing wrong with working hard and earning a good living," Young said.

"But the Medicaid billings by our opponent are exorbitant and eye-opening."

Kim Geveden, Mongiardo's campaign manager, said, "attempting to smear a good man and doctor who has served his rural, poor community for years through blatant lies is pathetic."

"Bunning is engaging in the trash politics of false personal slander," Geveden said.