Community Catalyst Health Reform Insider

Mob rule does ≠ Democracy:

Stop the Swift-Boating of health care reform

Across the country, groups of unruly protesters have been disrupting town hall meetings sponsored by Congressional Democrats to talk about health care reform.  Even among those who decry the mob tactics, there’s some confusion, over exactly what the problem is.

Accusations that they are “astro-turfed,” though undoubtedly true, are largely beside the point.  The people are real, even if their outbursts are more scripted than spontaneous. 

And this is not about free speech or the right to petition, either. Of course people have the right to dissent, to do it loudly – they even have the right to be misinformed.  What they don’t have a right to do is prevent others who want to have a more civil discussion from doing so. As Oliver Wendell Holmes famously observed: “Your right to swing your fist stops short of my nose.” 

So what’s the real problem? Bullying, intimidation, and disruption are all tactics meant to stifle debate, not encourage it.  And the organizers of the mobs are hiding their real objective (to kill health reform) behind claims that they know to be false – even if some of the protesters genuinely believe them. (See 'A quick guide to the truth' below) 

As health reform supporters, then, we must redouble our efforts this month.  We cannot allow reform be derailed by these tactics, or the democratic process (that’s small “d”) to be subverted by a hyper-ideological fringe element whose goal is not only to defeat health care reform, but also to blunt all efforts to restore government as an agent to improve the lives of ordinary working people, and to turn the political pendulum back to the hard right policies rejected in the last two elections. 

And evidence is growing that supporters are responding to that challenge. We’ve been hearing from advocates who’ve developed creative ways to take back the town halls and show their Members the support they need to fight for health reform when they return to Washington.  Some of the ideas include collecting RSVPs to the event, reaching out proactively to reporters before and after an event, holding tele-town halls with constituents and Members, and using silent visual aids like true/false signs to respond to statements made in town halls.

 
A quick guide to the truth

Protesters are railing against a fantasy proposal that bears no resemblance to the actual legislation moving through Congress.  Below is a quick guide to some of the most egregious whoppers that are making the rounds. 

Myth: The bill outlaws private insurance—it says so right on page 16.
Truth: What the bill really says is that after a date, certain private plans that engage in egregious practices – such as imposing pre-existing condition exclusions or charging people more based on gender or health status – cannot continue to be sold to new enrollees.  Private plans that meet the new rules not only can be sold, but will continue to be the main way people get coverage (see 'government takeover' myth below).

Myth: The bill promotes euthanasia.
Truth: The provision pays primary care doctors to take time to discuss patient wishes around end-of-life treatment.  It does not require anyone to obtain such counseling, let alone require beneficiaries to make any particular decision about end-of-life treatment.

Myth: The plan amounts to a government takeover of health care.
Truth: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates for about 10 million enrollees in the public plan as designed by the House – that’s compared to over 160 million in private coverage.  If the changes to the public plan adopted by the Energy and Commerce committee prevail, that number could be lower still.

Myth: Comparative Effectiveness Research equals rationing.
Truth: Provisions in the health reform proposals to promote research that will compare how well different treatments work will improve quality of care by giving doctors and patients the best available information on which to base their decisions.

Myth:  The legislation will provide subsidized coverage for illegal immigrants.
Truth: Regardless of how you feel about it (and we see it as a weakness of the current proposals), coverage for illegal immigrants is explicitly excluded in all of the reform bills.

Going to the polls

Recent opinion research has good news and bad for reforms. (The data comes from a New York Times/CBS poll conducted July 24-28 and a CNN poll conducted July 31 - Aug. 3.)

The good news is that a majority of people still basically support reform, and they are more supportive when they understand what the proposal actually does than when it just gets a label like “the reform being advanced by the Democrats or President Obama.”

They think President Obama has better ideas for reforming health care than do Congressional Republicans, who they view in a strongly negative light.  They strongly support insurance reforms such as eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions, even when told it could increase insurance rates.  They also support raising the income tax on the wealthy as proposed by the House, and oppose taxing health benefits.

More problematically, most of the public is happy with their coverage and care and does not believe reform will personally benefit them.  Worries that reform will lead to lower quality of care for them personally have gone up in recent months.  The public is also very concerned about jobs and the economy, and somewhat worried that reform will lead to job loss.  All this suggests it’s important for reformers to keep emphasizing that people will be able to keep their current coverage and cultivating small business support for reform.

One final area of potential concern is the intensity factor: the majority supports reform, but they are more likely to be moderate in their support. Opponents appear more strongly opposed.  According to the CNN poll, about 23 percent of the public strongly supports reform while 33 percent is strongly opposed. 

 
Just Say No to the Status Quo

We know that without reform, costs will keep rising, more people will lose their insurance, more costs will be shifted onto the privately-insured, people with pre-existing conditions will keep being shut out of coverage, and preventable errors, avoidable hospitalizations and emergency room visits, medical debt and medical bankruptcy will persist. 

We must strengthen and expand support for health reform by reaching out to educate others on the benefits of reform, and the consequences of the status quo. For how-to ideas, check out the CC recess pack and a report on the cost of inaction for ideas.