Three Health Reform Constituencies

It's pretty clear that something will be passed through Congress and signed by the President, and that something will be labelled "health reform." How each person reacts to the passage of this bill will be a strong predictor of their membership in one of the following groups.

Serious Students of Health Policy
These folks generally recognize that the legislation being proposed does not even begin to address the daunting structural and fiscal problems in our health care system. People in this group do argue about exactly what should be done, but they're pretty much agreed that this mess isn't it. These people recognize that this legislation is, for the most part, a mega-$ handout of taxpayer money to insurance companies.

If you went in believing that reform was needed, but you're utterly demoralized by what's emerging from the process, you're in this group.

Paranoid Big Brother Conspiracy Theorists
These folks look at the proposed legislation as yet another example of Big Government encroachment into private life, and despite their often loony antics, they do have a point. The most substantive element of this legislation is the government holding a gun to everyone's head and saying "buy health insurance... or else." Throw in the fact that the people with guns held to their heads will mostly be the uninsured poor for whose benefit this reform was supposed to be in the first place, and that the main beneficiaries are the insurance companies who were originally made out to be the villains, and you've got to admit, there is a serious Orwellian vibe going on here.

If the impending passage of this bill makes you want to go scream your lungs out at a Tea Party Rally, or stock up on ammo and surgical gauze, you're in this group.

Big Obama Fans and Democratic Party Loyalists
These people are mostly focused on Scoring a Win. Who cares about the details? If we can get this thing through Congress, we can claim victory over the vile, hated Republicans. Hooray!

If you are enthusiastic about the passage of this bill, and ready to hail its passage as Unprecedented and Historic, you're in this group.

To you I would say congratulations on winning the Big Game, but please do not pretend that you have accomplished anything meaningful here.