There is a lot of fear, confusion, and misinformation circulating around not only the social media-sphere but in the mainstream media as well. To put things in perspective, I’ve put together a list of 5 things you probably didn’t know about the White House’s proposed health care reform bill. Check it out and feel free to leave your thoughts or comments.

1) There is no bill.

You’ve probably heard political pundits tout it as the “Obama Health Care Reform Bill” or “Obama’s Health Care Plan”. Fact is, as of this writing, there are actually 8 (eight) bills that have been introduced into legislation in congress. Of those eight bills, four are sponsored by Democrats, two by Republicans,  and one comes from an Independent. The other is a bi-partisan bill with sponsors from both parties. The trouble that President Obama and the White House is having explaining the health care reform bill to the American people stems from the fact that it doesn’t exist yet. The bill that is getting the most airtime right now is the Democrat sponsored H.R. 3200 bill authored by Michigan Congressman John Dingell. So, ironically, there is no such thing as “Obamacare”.

2) Tax payer funded abortion is already prohibited by law.

Not only is there not a single line of text in any of the 8 bills presently before congress that even alludes to the possibility of using tax payer money to fund abortions, but the whole idea is absurd considering it is already prohibited by law. Thanks to a constitutional amendment called the Hyde amendment,  passed by Congress in 1976.

3) It is not a complete restructuring of health care insurance.

In fact the majority of the bills before congress contain legislation that would enhance and or add on to the already existing Medicare system. For example, anti-reform supporters (specifically Deathers) have spread the completely ridiculous idea that “Obama’s” health care reform legislation contains language that would inevitably lead to the forceful euthanization of elderly, disabled, and special needs citizens. The reality is that this myth is an extreme misrepresentation of a provision in H.R. 3200 that would authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care should they so desire.

4) Reports that health care insurance reform will ruin the economy are not what they seem.

You may notice that whenever you see a Republican or conservative strategist on television talking about health care reform you usually hear them cite a “recent study” by the Lewin Group that illustrates how the Obama health care reform bill will cost hospitals and doctors money and threaten the economy. But wait a second. Who the heck is the Lewin Group?

The (Lewin Group is) part of Ingenix, which is owned by United Healthcare Group, the insurance behemoth that has been buying up insurance companies left and right, expanding its reach into just about every segment of the health-insurance market. Its flagship, UnitedHealthcare, helps make it the largest health insurer in the country. It’s a safe bet that United is not too keen on a public plan that might shrink its business. -  HealthJournalism.org

5) The public option is not mandatory.

Sure, the public option is a once in a lifetime opportunity to put we the consumer in a position of power against the health care insurance companies; but mandatory it is not. Again, there isn’t a single line of text in any of the legislation before congress that would support the idea that the public would be forced to use the government run public option. Some fear mongers may have already tried to get you to believe that the government option would drive all private health companies out of business because it would be so good the private sector couldn’t compete. Keep in mind these are the same people trying to get you to believe the government will completely screw this up. Starting to see the pattern? The people who are fighting against health care reform are trying to have it both ways because they don’t want reform. They want to stop it no matter what the legislation says. (see item #4 for potential motives)

The next time you’re having a discussion someone and they try to get you to fall for their latest bumper sticker slogan, ask them to quote the legislation that states it. The bottom line here is that even if you’re not an expert you should still feel obligated as a citizen to inform yourself. Or at a minimum, not allow anyone to make claims about the contents of the  pending health care reform bills without actually being able to quote the legislation. Health care is too important to be a completely for-profit industry.