Kean launches new TV ad targeting health insurance companies

Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) launched a new TV ad this morning highlighting his efforts to take on major insurance companies and protect patients from denied care and exorbitant costs for lifesaving treatments.

In “Every Patient,” Kean appears on camera and narrates the ad.  He says health insurance companies need to be held accountable, and says he’s “had enough.”   Kean has introduced legislation to make sure Americans get access to mental health care; he did that shortly after returning to Washington in June after an absence as he battled depression.

“Throughout my time in public service, I have fought to hold insurance companies accountable when they take advantage of New Jerseyans and deny care to those who need it,” said Kean. “I am fighting to make every step of healthcare more affordable and accessible for every family I represent.”

Kean played a role in passing the bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Extension, aimed at preventing substantial increases in health care costs.   He sponsored the Mental Health Parity Enforcement and Funding Act, which would strengthen parity-law enforcement and require insurers to cover mental health and substance-use disorders on the same terms as physical health conditions.

Script: (Kean) I meet too many families who pay too much, who get denied care, who suffer because of big insurance companies. I had enough. I took on the insurance companies…to get costs down…to make sure they provide the same access to mental health care as they do for physical care.  And I’m not done…we’re not done, until every patient, every family gets the care they need. I’m Tom Kean Jr., and I approve this message.”

Kean faces Democrat Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey’s 7th district, which is considered one of the real battlegrounds of this year’s midterm elections nationally.

He is a two-term congressman and former minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate.  Bennett is a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot.