The U.S. House and Senate are moving to finish comprehensive health care reform legislation before adjourning for an August recess. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans and their allies in the corporate health care world—especially the private health insurance industry—are following a well-crafted, but lie-filled, propaganda script to kill health care reform.

But an insurance industry insider offers further proof why health care reform is so desperately needed—especially a plan that includes a strong public health insurance plan option and curbs to prevent the insurance industry’s abusive practices.

As President Obama pointed out last month to the American Medical Association—which since has endorsed the House health care reform plan that includes a public option—that’s the same script health care reform opponents have been using for years to derail real reform and further worsen the health care crisis:

We know that there are those who will try and scuttle this opportunity no matter what, who will use the same scare tactics and fear-mongering that’s worked in the past. They’ll give dire warnings about socialized medicine and government takeovers; long lines and rationed care; decisions made by bureaucrats and not doctors. We’ve heard it all before—and because these fear tactics have worked, things have kept getting worse.

The defenders of the current health care system—more or less controlled by the private insurance industry—should give a listen to the former chief spokesperson for the insurance giant Cigna. Maybe then they wouldn’t be so quick to condemn the public plan option that would give families the choice of keeping their private insurance or choosing the public plan.

Wendell Potter tells Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman:

I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick—all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors.

The insurance industry and Wall Street investors, writes Goodman:

“are addicted to massive profits and double-digit annual rate increases. To squeeze more profit, Potter says, if a person makes a major claim for coverage, the insurer will often scrutinize the person’s original application, looking for any error that would allow it to cancel the policy. Likewise, if a small company’s employees make too many claims, the insurer, Potter says, “very likely will jack up the rates so much that your employer has no alternative but to leave you and your co-workers without insurance.”

Potter says the insurance industry fears the possibility of a public plan and the choice it would give consumers.

They’ll pull out all the stops they can to defeat that to try to scare people into thinking that embracing a public health insurance option would lead down the slippery slope toward socialism…putting a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor. They’ve used those talking points for years, and they’ve always worked.

Republican’s may parrot the worn-out propaganda about health care reform and “government rationing” and the end “of doctor-patient” health care decisions. However, during a recent radio call-in show, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) shows they may not really believe the lies.

Think Progress reports that a caller to C-Span’s Washington Journal described personal experience in which the patient’s insurance company denied coverage and physician-requested services and tests. Said Murphy:

Yeah and that brings up the point here that with regard to one of our big frustrations with insurance companies is they control the market place, they control what’s done, a lot of times doctors are not making the decisions here.