Democratic group plans to hammer GOP efforts to weaken Obama health care law

WASHINGTON — For years, Republicans successfully battered Democrats for supporting the health care law.

But now, a coalition of Democratic organizations believes public opinion has swung their way, and they plan to spend the fall attacking President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers for attempting to undermine the success of a law that provides health insurance to millions of Americans.

Encouraged by the failure of Republican efforts to repeal the law, considered former President Barack Obama’s most consequential domestic legislation, a group called Protect Our Care said it intends to spend more than $1 million on digital ads in states across the country accusing the administration and its congressional allies of working to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.

The group will soon launch a new website that will be highly critical of Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services. And it will be organizing rallies and protests in 10 states aimed at highlighting the votes that Republican lawmakers took in the failed bid to repeal the law.

“For the first time, since 2010, we are on offense on health care and we are going to prosecute a campaign on offense to ensure the law never faces the threat of repeal,” said Brad Woodhouse, a veteran Democratic operative who is joining the group to oversee the day-to-day operations on behalf of the health care law.

Woodhouse said the Trump administration underscored the need for the group’s new mission last week, when officials announced that they plan to slash the government’s advertising budget for encouraging people to enroll in the health care marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said the advertising budget for the open enrollment period that starts in November would be cut to by 90 percent, to just $10 million.