The Democratic National Committee has launched an ad campaign in Louisiana specifically focusing on Medicaid and putting pressure on Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy to vote no on the Senate GOP’s proposed health care bill.
As Roll Call reports, the DNC ad features a single mom named Krista who has three children—one of whom has autism, the other with seizures, and the youngest with behavioral problems—who benefited from Medicaid expansion in the state.
“If they didn’t have the Medicaid, then they wouldn’t have been able to see the specialists,” Krista says in the video.
The ad comes as the Louisiana senator’s vote is seen as a crucial vote for the legislation.
Sabrina Singh, deputy communications director for the committee, says the ad would be amplified on all digital platforms—both in Louisiana and nationally.
Cassidy has expressed concerns about an amendment Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has offered that would allow insurance companies to sell plans that don’t comply with the federal health care law’s regulations.
Democrats are hoping Medicaid expansion under the 2010 law could be a rallying point in Louisiana, which has one of the largest populations to benefit from the program. Some 430,000 Louisianans have enrolled in Medicaid since Gov. John Bel Edwards expanded the program last year.
