A coalition representing hospitals, nurses, health-care workers and Group Health Cooperative has launched TV ads in Seattle and Tacoma, urging people to call lawmakers and protest budget cuts.

"What Olympia is proposing should alarm families across Washington State," said Cassie Sauer, vice president of the state hospital association. "...The public is aware that our state is facing a budget crunch, but they need to know just how deep the cuts go and how severely families will be impacted across our state."

Prposed cuts would mean at least 45,000 people losing state-run health insurance, less money for nursing homes, fewer state-paid hours for home care workers, and fewer workers at hospitals and clinics, says the group. They project that 5,000 health care workers would be laid off.

"This is just wrong and there has to be a better way," said Adam Glickman, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Healthcare 775.

The better way, presumably, is a tax package to raise money to offset the cuts. The ad makes no mention of taxes, instead urging people to call lawmakers and the governor and protest the proposed budget cuts.

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