07 July 2010

On the Side of Hard Working Americans

The Goal:

A meaningful public role in health care reform is under a sustained attack. To combat these attacks those in favor of comprehensive reform need to stay "on message" and use powerful language that resonates with the American people.

Americans want health care that they can afford & count on – especially in these economic times. They want to keep the coverage they have - however, they are concerned about the insurance companies changing the rules and/or increasing the price. They feel powerless against such a force and want oversight of an industry that they feel makes all the rules and all the money. The public wants quality and affordable health care, with a choice of coverage, so they can decide the best option for themselves and their families.

The Big Government Attack Frame:

Several aspects of health care reform are being attacked by those who are against meaningful public oversight. The attacks thus far have ranged from going after the option of a public plan, the Federal Health Board idea and anything that controls prices. All of these attacks emanate from the same basic attack frame – a Big Government Bureaucratic take-over of Health Care. Examples include:

1. A government bureaucrat will make the decisions that you and your doctor should be making.
2. A big government bureaucracy will deny the care your doctor says you need.
3. An oversight role will drive private insurers out of the market and leave you with a sub-standard politburo public program.
4. Evidenced based medicine is a centralized, bureaucratic health decision making process that is anti-American.

Overarching Messaging Advice:

1. Engage emotionally, then quickly follow with 2-3 confirming facts: Speak to Americans in the language of 'the kitchen table' - address their values, their interests and the concerns they have for their families. Aim your messaging for the heart – then provide details of how reform specifically will benefit the person you're talking to, and their family.
2. Put THEM on the Defense: Question why the attacker is defending the way things were before reform – and why they want to take away coverage from 25-year-olds, make seniors pay back the money we sent them to help with their prescriptions, and boot people with pre-existing conditions off of their health care plans. Play offense.
3. If You Like It --- You Can Keep It. One of the most powerful ways to inoculate from the big government attack is to reassure folks that, if they like what they have they can keep it and with our new law there are more options to choose from.
4. Hold the Insurance Companies Accountable: Americans want an independent voice that is on their side that can set rules that are fair for families & businesses. They want a tough and fair watchdog to make sure insurers treat them and their families fairly. Our new law does just that.

Potential Responses:

1. Tough, Fair and Independent Watchdog: Americans want protection from insurance companies that deny coverage, change policies at whim, and increase premiums when they want. We need an independent voice that is on our side and can set rules that are fair for our families and our businesses. Our new law gives us that tough, fair and independent watchdog.
2. What Bureaucracy & Red Tape Looks Like: Who are these people who are fighting against the new law? They are the insurance companies and their Washington DC lobbyists who stand to continue to make millions off of us - as long as the new law isn't implemented. For year and years they have been using the same attacks against health care reform - that it is an anti-American big government take-over of health care. If you want to see what bureaucracy and red tape look like, try reaching a person on the phone the next time you call your own insurance company, and try getting them to explain why they won't pay $800 for some medical treatment your doctor ordered. The new law will hold insurance companies accountable, guaranteeing us all more choices, better care, and no more of those 45-minute phone-calls.
3. Free Market Solution? Every time the market fails to solve a problem, we hear, "Just eliminate regulations and the market will correct itself." That's what we heard with the mortgage industry, the oil companies, and the big corporations that are outsourcing American jobs. Just look at what the "free market" brought us on health care: Millions of people can't afford insurance or are afraid to change jobs because they have some "pre-existing condition"—which we all have if we just live long enough. Our new law makes the health care system work fairly for all of us.