If You Really Believe You're Right, You Shouldn't Have to Lie

If that's the case, then what does it say about what the health insurance companies are doing?

A friend of mine brought my attention to this post at Business Insider. Basically, health insurance companies are using Facebook virtual currency to get game players to email Congress about their supposed opposition to the health-care reform bill.

As article author Nicholas Carlson points out, the companies are exploiting Facebook gamers' desire to obtain more virtual currency (to help them move up the ranks in games like Farmville), by offering currency in exchange for "trying" a new product or service.

But in this case, "Instead of asking the gamers to try a [specific] product..., "Get Health Reform Right" requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep: 'I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have.'"

"Astroturfing" like this (i.e. fake grass-roots movements) isn't new, and it's not illegal. But it is completely unethical.

This particular instance is the product of an innocuous-sounding (ain't it always the way?!) organization: "Get Health Reform Right", which describes itself as a "project of organizations whose shared mission is to ensure consumers continue to have access to employer-sponsored healthcare plans." (Full disclosure here: My personal definition of "Getting Health Reform Right" would be 100% single-payer.)

Who is/are "Get Health Reform Right"? Carlson did a little research, and came up with the following organizations:

• Association of Health Insurance Advisors
• America’s Health Insurance Plans
• American Benefits Council
• BlueCross BlueShield Association
• Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers
• Healthcare Leadership Council
• Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers
• National Association of Health Underwriters
• National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
• National Retail Association

Completely disinterested parties, wouldn't you say?

My own skeptical inclination is to think that if the established health-care players are so concerned by even the not-even-close-to-what-I-would-have-hoped-for legislation working its way through Congress, it must be pretty damn good.

Or they wouldn't have to lie like this to get their messages sent.