Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Are the new TV spots public service announcements or Bush reelection

Alexandria VA-based National Media Inc. is buying $9.5 million worth of television advertising to air a 30-second commercial aimed at Medicare beneficiaries about the new prescription-drug law. The contract is part of a $12.6 million overall advertising effort on the law that is being conducted with federal funds, the Associated Press reports.

The ad campaign already was being criticized by congressional Democrats and even some conservative groups for being more election-year puffery than solid information. But the criticism has stepped up with the involvement of National Media, because the firm also is involved in President Bush's reelection campaign.

Robin Roberts, who was media buyer for Bush's 2000 campaign, is a National Media partner, as is Alex Castellanos, who devised the Republican Party's 2000 commercial in opposition to Vice President Al Gore that flashed the word "RATS" on the screen, says AP.

Rob Sweezy, who was the top public-affairs officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Bush administration, also recently left the agency to join National Media.