Our Lives on the Line is a left-of-center healthcare advocacy organization created to oppose repeal of Obamacare. It is a division of Health Care Voter and a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a funding and fiscal sponsorship lobbying organization managed by the Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Arabella Advisors. 1
Health Care Voter launched the effort Our Lives on the Line in March 2020 with a virtual town hall series focused on promoting big government responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Health Care Voter strongly advocated for protecting Obamacare. 2
Health Care Voter Campaign Director Rosemary Enobakhare has been the chief spokesperson for Our Lives on the Line. 3
Digital Town Halls
During the spread of the pandemic coronavirus in 2020, Our Lives on the Line held a series of digital town halls to motivate voters about left-progressive health care issues, claiming the pandemic proved the need to have guaranteed health insurance and government-mandated lower prescription drug prices. 4
The group’s first digital town hall in March 2020 featured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry, Center for American Progress managing director of health policy Maura Calsyn and other representatives from liberal activist groups. 5
The group claims the digital town hall meetings will demand accountability from the Trump administration and Republicans. The meetings were held on Facebook with two national meetings and state-level forums for Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey. 6
Health Care Voter
Health Care Voter began in 2017 as an effort prevent the repeal and replacement of Obamacare shortly after President Donald Trump took office and a Republican-controlled Congress that passed repeal legislation when President Barack Obama was president was expected to pass similar legislation.
Brad Woodhouse, a former Democratic National Committee operative, is the co-chairman of Health Care Voter. 7 The other co-chairwoman is Alyssa Milano, an actress and leftwing activist. Health Care Voter is a project of the 501(c)(4) group the Sixteen Thirty Fund. It was part of a coalition of leftwing advocacy groups that included Save My Care, Protect Our Care and Get America Covered. During the 2018 election, Health Care Voter spent $1 million on advertising across 20 battleground congressional districts. 8
References
- “Sixteen Thirty Fund.” OpenCorporates. Accessed January 11, 2019. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_2696217.
- Our Lives on the Line. Health Care Voter. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://healthcarevoter.org/ourlivesontheline/
- Press Release. “Health Care Voter Launches ‘Our Lives on the Line’ Digital Town Hall Series to Hold Trump and the Republicans Accountable for Failing Response to Coronavirus Pandemic.” Health Care Voter. March 31, 2020. https://healthcarevoter.org/news/health-care-voter-launches-our-lives-on-the-line-digital-town-hall-series-to-hold-trump-and-the-republicans-accountable-for-failing-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic/
- Our Lives on the Line. Health Care Voter. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://healthcarevoter.org/ourlivesontheline/
- Press Release. “Health Care Voter Launches ‘Our Lives on the Line’ Digital Town Hall Series to Hold Trump and the Republicans Accountable for Failing Response to Coronavirus Pandemic.” Health Care Voter. March 31, 2020. https://healthcarevoter.org/news/health-care-voter-launches-our-lives-on-the-line-digital-town-hall-series-to-hold-trump-and-the-republicans-accountable-for-failing-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic/
- Press Release. “Health Care Voter Launches ‘Our Lives on the Line’ Digital Town Hall Series to Hold Trump and the Republicans Accountable for Failing Response to Coronavirus Pandemic.” Health Care Voter. March 31, 2020. https://healthcarevoter.org/news/health-care-voter-launches-our-lives-on-the-line-digital-town-hall-series-to-hold-trump-and-the-republicans-accountable-for-failing-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic/
- “Brad Woodhouse.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/woodhousebrad1/
- Garcia, Eric. “Liberal Health Care Group Launches Seven-Figure Campaign.” Roll Call. September 6, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/liberal-health-care-group-starts-seven-figure-campaign-embargoed-until-8-am