The Health Care Reform Debate: Truth, Lies and a Lesson in Semantics Posted By : David St.Clair

When South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” during President Obama’s address to Congress last week, he not only displayed incivility and boorish disrespect for the leader of our nation, he also exemplified the need for us all to pay very close attention to the specifics of the language being used to advance the health care reform debate. Whether it’s the result of crafty semantics on behalf of some or selective hearing on behalf of others, we’ve been getting so distracted by the rhetoric that we’re often clearly missing the message.



In his address, the President stated: “There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” And this is when Wilson launched his sophomoric outburst. What Mr. Obama said was absolutely, 100 percent the truth: his reform plan in no way, shape or form provides insurance coverage for people who are in the country illegally. However, as some may recall, the law that President Reagan championed in the 80s makes it illegal for anyone seeking care in an emergency room to be denied services because they are uninsured. Therefore, regardless of any proposed reform legislation, illegal immigrants can get treatment. Apparently, when Mr. Obama said “insurance coverage” Congressman Wilson somehow heard “receive service.”



Similarly, earlier in his address the President stated: “…if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.” Again, a true statement — on the surface. As I explained in an earlier blog, the proposed legislation wouldn’t directly require anyone to change anything, as the President stated. However, in many cases there will be myriad incentives, financial and otherwise, that could convince employers to significantly change or drop their existing health plans. In that case, individuals working for these organizations will indeed find themselves with different coverage and/or having to change doctors.



As we move ever closer to a reform bill and its eventual passage — which I believe to be inevitable at this point — it would behoove us all to listen very carefully to the various issues being discussed, particularly the most controversial ones. We could all learn a great deal from that which is being said — or not said.

David St.Clair founded MEDecision, a leading provider of collaborative health care management solutions, in 1988 and has served as the chief executive officer since 1988. You can learn more about MEDecision at www.MEDecision.com and subscribe to an RSS feed at http://www.MEDecision.com/blog/. Contact David at dstclair@MEDecision.com and follow the company on Twitter at @MEDecision.