Kean launches blistering new TV ad attacking Bennett’s healthcare career

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) launched a blistering new television ad Thursday attacking Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett over her career in healthcare, accusing her of making millions while companies she worked with were implicated in patient abuse, neglect, and deaths as he seeks a third term in New Jersey’s 7th district.

The ad, titled “Profits Over Patients,” represents an aggressive escalation in Kean’s effort to portray Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive, as a wealthy liberal who has profited at the expense of vulnerable patients.

The 30-second spot opens with a television news report about a former pediatrician sentenced for sexually assaulting 31 children, followed by a second news clip describing a company as “prioritizing profits at the expense of patient care.”

The Kean campaign maintains that Bennett’s healthcare career includes brokering deals involving hospital chains accused of patient abuse and working with insurers criticized for denying coverage and prioritizing profits over patient care.

But four companies Bennett worked for had only indirect involvement with health insurance: Oshi Health is a virtual gastrointestinal-care provider that is in-network with major health plans and bills insurers; Noom is a digital health and weight-management company that works with employers and health plans to provide covered programs; Midi Health is a virtual women’s-health provider that participates in many major PPO insurance plans; and Johnson & Johnson is a pharmaceutical and medical-device company—not an insurer. Its products are marketed to and negotiated with insurance companies.

Script: “(News Anchor) A former pediatrician is sentenced today for sexual assaulting 31 children. (Narrator) Abuse. (News Anchor) Prioritizing profits at the expense of patient care. (Narrator) Greed. Liberal Rebecca Bennett brags about partnering with the same company putting profits over patients. Bennett became a millionaire while patients were maimed, sexually abused, and even killed because Rebecca Bennett is no middle-class moderate. She’s a greedy liberal millionaire who doesn’t care about you. (Kean) I’m Tom Kean Jr., and I approve this message.”