HHS's Sebelius: What's Been Lost In The Shouting

What did Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius make of the free-for-all that erupted during a Philadelphia town hall meeting about health care over the weekend?

"Democracy is alive and well in Philadelphia," she told All Things Considered co-host Melissa Block this afternoon.

These sorts of meeting have been marked by protests all around the country. Sebelius said she knew this one might have some "interesting dialog" when the audience booed during introductions by the director of the National Constitution Center.

There were many people at the meeting who aimed to "disrupt and and have the opportunity to disengage folks from a conversation about health reform," she said. Take a listen to the interview:

Still, public concerns about a health overhaul aren't just orchestrated, Sebelius acknowledged, telling Block, "I don't think there's any more personal issue to the American people than health care."

 

Even though most people with insurance say they're basically happy with their coverage, Sebelius says it's a different story when you dig a little deeper. Take, for instance, the rise in out-of-pocket costs for many people or the prospects of a child graduating from college and falling off a family's plan.

When Block asked if Sebelius thought the insurance companies were villains, she answered with a page from Business 101: "This isn't rocket science. It is a lot cheaper to collect a premium and not pay claims than it is to collect a premium and pay claims."

Changing the health system, Sebelius said, is about "changing some of the operating rules" so that insurers can't pick and choose whom to cover. The companies would also get competition from a public plan. But, she said, insurers would also get millions of new customers under an expansion of coverage.