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AMA uninsured campaign kicks into high gear with national advertising

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association kicked off the second phase of its Voice For The Uninsured campaign today with a multi-million dollar broadcast, print and online advertising buy.

Over the course of 2008, the AMA will invest millions in advertising and events surrounding the upcoming presidential election to spur action to cover the uninsured.

"By November, millions of Americans will have heard the AMA's concern that one in seven of us is uninsured, and they will have heard our call to voters to cast their ballots with the issue of the uninsured in mind," said AMA Board Member and Boston pediatrician Samantha Rosman, M.D.

"Physicians see the consequences the uninsured face firsthand: these patients live sicker and die younger," said Dr. Rosman.

"The uninsured often miss needed preventive care and put off seeing the doctor until their health problems reach crisis proportions, leading to more difficult and more costly conditions to treat."

Beginning this week, television ads will air on cable news and entertainment broadcasts and print ads will run in U.S. News & World Report.

Over the next few months, national print ads will run in daily and  weekly news and healthy-lifestyle publications such as Newsweek, Time, and Men's Health, and online ads will be featured on news Web sites.

The AMA will reach out to voters through healthy-lifestyle events and mobile billboards, and will create MySpace and Facebook profiles dedicated to the uninsured and the launch of the Voices music tour -- a series of concerts across the country designed to bring awareness to the uninsured crisis.

The Voices podcast series, featuring musicians who share their music and stories about being uninsured, will continue.

"Covering the uninsured is a top priority for the AMA, and we are sharing our proposal with voters and candidates," said Dr. Rosman. "The AMA plan expands health insurance coverage to all patients, regardless of income or health status."

"Under the AMA proposal, those who need it most receive financial assistance to purchase health insurance," said Dr. Rosman.

"The AMA plan gives individuals choices so they can select the appropriate coverage for themselves and their families, and it promotes fair rules that include protections for high-risk patients and greater individual responsibility."

Launched in August 2007, the first phase of the AMA's Voice For The Uninsured campaign reached millions of voters through advertising and event sponsorship in Washington, D.C. and the early primary states. Uninsured patients shared their personal stories with the AMA through our Web site http://www.voicefortheuninsured.org,  and many signed a petition supporting the

AMA's proposal.

One in seven Americans doesn't have insurance, but we all have a voice and a vote," said Dr. Rosman. "We know that if Americans make this a priority in the coming election, together we can cover the uninsured."