Conservative Dark-Money Groups Push Deceptive Ads Against Biden’s Agenda

Photo illustration: Soohee Cho/The Intercept; Photos: Getty Images. Article by Akela Lacy. The Intercept – October 15, 2021.

“Do you want to continue with this medication?” asks an actor portraying a doctor in a new political ad, holding a pill bottle out to a fictional patient. When the patient nods, the fake doctor turns left to two people in dark suits, who frown and shake their heads. “I’m sorry,” the doctor tells the patient. “Insurance companies and Washington bureaucrats — these guys are working together to swipe $500 billion from Medicare to pay for Pelosi and Schumer’s out-of-control spending spree.”

The ad was put out last month by the 60 Plus Association, a Koch–funded 501(c)(4) group founded in 1992 by a Republican Senate staffer as a conservative alternative to AARP. Contrary to the ad’s claims, the spending package Democrats are now trying to push through Congress — using the filibuster-proof reconciliation process — would expand Medicare benefits to cover dental, vision, and hearing and allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. […]

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