It’s crunch time in the fight over a health-care bill, so groups for and against the legislation are getting ready for a final push before congressional votes that could come later this month.

These efforts take money, of course, and advocate groups have put together war chests, much of it slated to go to advertising. Here are some of the spending plans outlined in a WSJ report this morning:

A business coalition backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups will allocate between $4 million and $10 million on anti-bill ads. They will be targeted against several dozen Democratic lawmakers with the message that the changes would cause job losses.
Another anti-overhaul group, Americans for Prosperity, will use radio and TV ads in about 21 House districts, spending $350,000. It also plans rallies at lawmakers’ district offices.
Some labor unions and progressive groups called Health Care for America Now are running $70,000 in TV ads in Washington. The ads tell Congress to “listen to us, not the insurance companies. Pass health-care reform now.”
Seniors group AARP, a heavy spender on TV ads backing a revamp earlier, now is concentrating on contacting constituents in districts with wavering lawmakers to boost support for the bill.
Meanwhile, the health insurance industry is starting to show ads on cable TV networks aimed at blunting White House criticism of insurance rate increases, USA Today reports. The industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans says it’s spending at least $1 million on the ads, but won’t elaborate.

More than $200 million was spent on ads during the overhaul debate last year, making the health-care fight the largest single advocacy campaign ever, according to Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks issue advertising. Spending on both sides was about equally split last year, the group tells the WSJ.

James A. White