""a tsunami of rumors, myths, fear-mongering and misinformation about the proposals that surges around the internet" What we're seeing is a flood of viral content that distorts the Obama effort to reform health care, says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, who runs www.factcheck.org, a website that examines specious claims from all sides of the political spectrum. "Extremists and people who are so locked into their own ideology that they'll distort anything have been out there forever, she adds"it would be useful if as many people as possible actually understood what the proposals are about, Jamieson says. But the rise of the Internet and the decline of the mainstream press as a prime source of information, she adds, put that prospect at risk"Could the rumor-mongering affect the outcome? Recent violent interruptions at lawmakers' town hall meetings suggest it might.
That article continues with a kind FAQ section:
"Will the government take over health care so we end up with socialized medicine?
No. Neither the president nor the congressional committees have suggested anything remotely resembling a government takeover of health care"Opponents of reform constantly use the term "government-run health care to disparage the reform proposals, despite the popularity and success of existing government-run programs like Medicare. The tactic often works. Even some Medicare beneficiaries say they're worried about a "government takeover of Medicare.
"Will private insurance be outlawed or wither on the vine?
No"Fears of a mass exodus from employer insurance "are overblown, the study found. "Millions of workers will keep the employer-sponsored insurance they have today.
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