of bad information and misinformation being ... put out there by opponents of health care reform , '' Thorpe told CNN . Obama and the Democrats say misleading information sows fear and anger , particularly among senior citizens who are worried about how changes in health care could affect Medicare . The White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have set up Web campaigns to refute what they describe as provably false information . `` It is now evident that an ugly campaign is under way not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation , but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue , '' Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote in a recent commentary . Republican opponents respond that the emotional reaction is due to Democratic efforts to rush through legislation that amounts to a government takeover of the health care system . They say the proposals eventually will lead to a system that rations treatment based on an individual 's ability to contribute to society . `` We 've actually started a national debate about exactly what is at stake here , '' Republican National Committee
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A woman asked Rep. Allen Boyd at a town hall meeting the other day if health care reform proposals would force people to let the government access their bank accounts . False rumors about health care have been aired at town hall meetings , like this one in Maryland last week . `` That 's not true , '' the Florida Democrat responded . `` When someone sends you something on the Internet that sounds crazy , how about just checking it a little bit ? '' The CNN Truth Squad , which fact-checks political claims , has debunked the bank-access rumor as false . Yet that claim , and others that have been disproved , keep coming up in the national debate on health care reform , inflaming an already emotional issue . Heated protests have disrupted town hall meetings nationwide , with people shouting at legislators and venting anger at President Obama . While the anger is genuine , some of it is based on misunderstandings of the actual proposals , said Kenneth Thorpe , a health policy expert at Emory University . `` People are freaked out because there 's a lot