Conservatives for Patients' Rights
Encyclopedia
Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) is a health care pressure group founded by Rick Scott in February 2009. Scott has stated that CPR has an intention of putting pressure on U.S. Democrats
to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles. CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's
health care reform plan, and has hired Creative Response Concepts
, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
The CPR campaign for competition suggests a release of burdensome regulations against private companies in allowance of unfettered competition across the states. Scott said at that time of the CPR launch, "[When] the government gets involved, you run out of money and health care gets rationed." Scott has created and starred in a series of commercials advocating against greater government involvement in health care.
CPR-affiliated citizens have protested at town hall meetings on the issue. CPR has prvided a list of local town hall meetings discussing the issue, which the group urge their supporters to attend and have provided video footage on how previous people have handled the situation.
."
In May 2009, the group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) started broadcasting an advertisement in the Washington, D.C. area and in Scott's home town of Naples, Florida, highlighting a fraud case in which Scott was indicted. HCAN said of Scott: "He and his insurance-company friends make millions from the broken system we have now.".
In August 2009, Katie Brickell and Kate Spall, two British woman who featured in a CPR commercial attacking the National Health Service
, said they were "duped" and the commercial misrepresents them because in reality they strongly support state-funded health care. Both told The Times
newspaper that they had been told they were being interviewed for a documentary examining healthcare reform, and neither knew the footage would be used for such a commercial.
The group was also criticized by economist Paul Krugman
in a New York Times editorial.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles. CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
health care reform plan, and has hired Creative Response Concepts
Creative Response Concepts
Creative Response Concepts Public Relations is an American public relations firm best known for helping to devise the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign attacking John Kerry’s Vietnam War record in the 2004 presidential race....
, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Funding sources
As of March, 2009, Rick Scott had given about $5 million for a planned $20 million advertising campaign by CPR.Campaign
Conservatives for Patients' Rights assert themselves as advocates for better health care. Their plan is described as the pillars of health care reform: "choice, competition, accountability and personal responsibility."The CPR campaign for competition suggests a release of burdensome regulations against private companies in allowance of unfettered competition across the states. Scott said at that time of the CPR launch, "[When] the government gets involved, you run out of money and health care gets rationed." Scott has created and starred in a series of commercials advocating against greater government involvement in health care.
CPR-affiliated citizens have protested at town hall meetings on the issue. CPR has prvided a list of local town hall meetings discussing the issue, which the group urge their supporters to attend and have provided video footage on how previous people have handled the situation.
Opposition to the campaign
Some health policy analysts disagree with Scott's assertion that the Obama plan is "socialized medicineSocialized medicine
Socialized medicine is a term used to describe a system for providing medical and hospital care for all at a nominal cost by means of government regulation of health services and subsidies derived from taxation. It is used primarily and usually pejoratively in United States political debates...
."
In May 2009, the group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) started broadcasting an advertisement in the Washington, D.C. area and in Scott's home town of Naples, Florida, highlighting a fraud case in which Scott was indicted. HCAN said of Scott: "He and his insurance-company friends make millions from the broken system we have now.".
In August 2009, Katie Brickell and Kate Spall, two British woman who featured in a CPR commercial attacking the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
, said they were "duped" and the commercial misrepresents them because in reality they strongly support state-funded health care. Both told The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper that they had been told they were being interviewed for a documentary examining healthcare reform, and neither knew the footage would be used for such a commercial.
The group was also criticized by economist Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
in a New York Times editorial.
Further reading
- Government-Run Health Care? (False claims in advertisement from CPR). Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
- More Health Care Scare (False claims in advertisement from CPR). Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
- DCW Exclusive: Rick Scott on Health Care Crusade. TheDCWriteUp.com