Too much shouting about health care

Congress is in recess, and Americans are exercising their First Amendment right to "petition the government for redress of grievances." The activities at some town-hall-style forums have been less about petitioning and more about shouting down advocates of health care reform. Welcome to the realities of 21st century politics.

"Grassroots" protests are often not genuine outrage of individual citizens; instead, they are choreographed political theater created by public relations agencies and lobbying groups. This contrived upheaval of the citizenry has been dubbed "astroturf," a faked grassroots. I've followed some of these astroturf sideshows with some amusement as allegedly disinterested citizens held up protest signs reading "hands off my health care" or "no government option." Some Democrats in Congress have been shouted down at public forums by these protesters. Some conservative critics and talk show celebrities have compared health care reforms before Congress to Nazi Germany and communism.

Hyperbole is nothing new in politics, but the masquerade of "ordinary Americans" incensed over the idea of the government offering an alternative to private health insurance plans is laughable. As other commentators have noted, some of these sign-carrying protesters angry over a government health care plan are carrying Medicare cards in their wallets. The astroturfing lobbying groups and their public relations firms round up these protesters or persuade ill-informed and credulous citizens that the horror stories critics tell are genuine and try to convince members of Congress that Americans don't want health care reform.

I think most Americans would like to see changes in a health care system that is too expensive, too litigious and too capricious, leaving patients vulnerable to bankruptcy from a serious injury or chronic illness, doctors subject to ruin from an adverse legal decision and workers fearful of job loss or changes to their employer-paid health insurance. Just what shape this reform should take is subject to genuine debate, but let's distinguish between debate and shouting matches at astroturf-infected public forums or fear-invoking and misleading television ads.

The picture of individual citizens enraged over a public health insurance option doesn't make sense to me. Private insurers certainly have reason to oppose competition from a public insurer, but individual health-care recipients? They have nothing to lose and potentially some savings to gain.

There are legitimate reasons to worry about a federal health care reform. Change is always risky and not always beneficial. The cost of changes is a major concern as the federal deficit balloons into the trillions of dollars. But, if it lives up to its promises, health care reform could free up money that is now wasted in the expensive current system and free employers to be more competitive in the world market. Let's find a way to achieve those benefits without driving the federal budget into insolvency. Let's talk, not shout.