Honest Debate Needed On Health Care Reform

If there was a part of President Obama’s health care reform address last week to a joint session of Congress that we’d unequivocally endorse it was his denunciation of the scare tactics used by some reform opponents.

One such piece of misinformation cited by President Obama is that the reform legislation would set up panels comprised of bureaucrats, who’d have the power to “kill off senior citizens.” It isn’t just talk show hosts circulating that unfounded claim, but “prominent politicians” as well, President Obama said, no doubt referring to comments made on the issue by, among others, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

There have been plenty of other spurious claims, including a widely circulated rumor that employers would be forced to enroll employees in a public plan rather than a plan chosen by employees.

Of course, there will be disagreement over some of the reform proposals pending in Congress and those outlined by the president. And certainly some question even whether the current system needs to be overhauled.

Indeed, we have criticized provisions in the House bill that could take from employers the ability to design their own plans.

But what there should be—and what there has not been enough of—is an honest debate. Without that, the opportunity to try to solve a huge national problem—the continued escalation of health care costs and the rising number of uninsured—may be lost.

So, we hope what comes out of President Obama’s address is an intellectually honest debate on what health care reform should and should not do, without the distortion and exaggeration that have become part of the debate.

Reform that truly is in the national interest is possible, and the best way to accomplish that is to stick to the facts. Those exposed as being dishonest—whether they are for or against reform legislation—ultimately lose their ability to influence the debate.