Celebrity women have come together to launch a national TV advertising campaign urging voters to "vote like your health depends on it," and do your homework on health-care issues before going to the polls on November 4.

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) debuted its new national television and online advertising campaign, urging women to get answers from the candidates about health care, specifically how each candidate plans to prevent chronic diseases. The 30-second TV spot, and 45-second online spot, features Hollywood celebrities such as Mary-Louise Parker, Lauren Bacall, Katey Sagal and Phylicia Rashad, along with everyday women.

Women voters could make or break this year’s vitally important presidential election. And they’re often the ones that make health-care choices in their households.

They need to ask important questions, get details about John McCain and Barack Obama’s health-care plans and demand action not only because chronic disease is one of the most threatening health concerns to women, but because, the group says, it jeopardizes the affordability of health care in the United States.

PFCD says treating patients with chronic diseases — including arthritis, cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, depression and diabetes — accounts for 75 percent of all health-care spending, money that would be much better spent on prevention. Currently, about 130 million people in this country suffer from chronic disease, and it accounts for seven out of every 10 deaths, costing the U.S. economy approximately $1 trillion a year in lost productivity.

"This ad speaks to the heart of women voters who are deeply concerned with the existing health-care system and expect the next president to make health reform a top priority," said Ken Thorpe, executive director of the PFCD. "As November 4th nears, voters are making a conscious decision to vote on matters that hit close to home, and nothing is more personal than one’s own health.”

Thorpe added: “We are calling on leaders from both sides of the aisle to start a discussion around a point of consensus: the need to fight chronic illnesses that are bankrupting individuals and our country, and making us sick and less productive.”