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Surviving health reform conversations this Thanksgiving season

Posted by: Laura Parisi on Nov 24, 2009

In an ideal world, we would all spend Thanksgiving with our families, rejoicing over the House and Senate health reform votes. However, if your family is anything like mine, they may be more interested in the big Thanksgiving football game than the health reform legislation going on in Washington.  Or perhaps they've been gearing up for your Thanksgiving arrival by practicing their best Glenn Beck impersonations. Either way, if your holiday dinner conversation abruptly shifts from the new Twilight movie to health reform legislation, you may find yourself wanting to trade places with the turkey.

Luckily, you can be armed with Families USA's Talking Turkey piece so you know exactly what to say to each of your relatives to debunk any false notions they have about the bill and to help them understand how their life will improve with health care reform:

Grandma on Medicare:

• If your Grandma begins to question you about the fabled death panel, gently assure her that-like portion control on Thanksgiving-it simply does not exist. Instead, inform her of the substantial and immediate savings she will receive under health care reform as a result of closing the Part D doughnut hole and eliminating out-of-pocket costs for preventive care. 

Aunt with a pre-existing condition:

• If your aunt claims there is nothing in the bill for her, remind her that reform will regulate health insurers so that they can no longer deny her coverage or charge her exorbitant premiums because of her pre-existing health condition, health status, or gender. Plus the cost protections in the new exchange will prevent her income from being gobbled up by insurance premiums.  

Cousin, new to the job market:

• If your cousin just graduated, he may soon realize that, in this economy, finding a job right out of college that offers health insurance can be more difficult than figuring out what to do with all that leftover turkey. Health reform will allow your cousin to stay on his parent's health insurance until he turns 27, ensuring that he will no longer have to go without needed care while building his career.

Sister who owns a small business:

• If your sister can no longer afford to offer her employees quality health coverage, let her know that health reform will give her the opportunity to provide affordable coverage to her employees through the exchange. Plus she may be eligible for a new tax credit that will help her pay part of the cost of insuring her employees.

If that none of this works, and members of your family continue to argue over the merits of reform, politely remind them that all this screaming could cause high blood pressure- which is, after all, a pre-existing condition!