$1,000,000 in ads target Senator Heller

No doubt you've seen political ads bringing attention to the proposed American Health Care Act--all of them end one way: “Call Senator Heller and tell him to vote no.”

Most of the ads come from three major groups--AARP, Planned Parenthood, and a group called "Save Our Care."

In all, more than $1,000,000 has been spent locally on the ads, and that won't be ending anytime soon.

Last week Senator Dean Heller formally announced he was voting no on the proposed bill, saying it does not guarantee that more than 200,000 Nevadans with health insurance now will have it in the future.

“I'm telling you right now it does not do that,” Heller said.

While he was one of the first Republican senators to publicly announce he would not support the bill, his announcement has put him on the hot seat from just about every perspective.

June 27, 2017, as the vote on the American Health Care Act was put on hold, President Trump placed Heller and Senator Susan Collins from Maine, another senator who says no, right by his side in a White House photo opportunity.

“It’s clearly done on purpose. It is designed to intimidate. To bring the power of the presidency into the room and the conversation. Those generally have backfired with the Senate,” says Fred Lokken, a political science professor with Truckee Meadows Community College.

Lokken says Heller is doing what U.S Senators from Nevada are supposed to do, represent the best interests of Nevadans.

”He has demonstrated the political courage to demonstrate he cannot support the current legislation in its current form because of what it would do to Nevada long-term. That is his role as a senator,” says Lokken.

Lokken says the health care issue is by no means dead. Expect it to heat up again after the fourth of July recess. Which means the frequency of ads could increase locally.

Lokken says it may be time for Democrats and Republicans to sit down and come up with ideas on how to reform the current system. Who knows, Lokken says; as a moderate, Heller may be front and center in those negotiations as well

Those ads telling Dean Heller to vote no have been running or more than a month in the Reno market. June 27, ads attacking Senator Heller from an outside group supporting President Trump were supposed to hit the air.

Senator Heller raised the issue in the White House meeting. Those ads were pulled the same day.