The Atlantic Home

The 60-Plus Association, a conservative seniors group (which retains Pat Boone as its spokesman), has dedicated $2 million to running an ad against Democratic health reforms in eight states over the next week, pressuring moderate senators who will cast swing votes in the Senate on health care.

The subject of the ad: cuts to Medicare spending.

Medicare has been a touchy point in the health care debate: Democrats plan to decrease Medicare spending, but their health bills don't specify reduced of benefits--just caps on payment rate increases and restructuring of payments, for instance, to incentivize quality over quantity in patient treatment. They're quick to tell you that no one's Medicare benefits will be cut by Democratic reforms. The AARP agrees.

Critics, meanwhile, say the rate-increase caps will end up reducing benefits anyway. PolitiFact says this point could potentially have merit.

The 60-Plus ad is now airing in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota--meaning they'll be seen by constituents of some of the most critical swing senators on health reform: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Kent Conrad (D-ND).