By Evan Falchuk

At yesterday’s town hall meeting in Montana (I live-tweeted it on my twitter feed), President Obama continued to roll out his new pitch for reform: calling it health “insurance” reform, rather than health “care” reform.

The President’s point was this:

It’s not about fundamentally changing to our health care system, or bending the cost curve, it’s really only about consumer protections in the insurance market.  It doesn’t cost $1 trillion or more, it’s really only $30 billion a year, and we can pay for that with small changes to the way wealthier people itemize their tax deductions.  It’s not really contentious, because 80% is already agreed to, and there are only a few details left to work out.

As a sales pitch, it’s appealing and soothing.  If this is all reform is about, why all the ruckus?

Well, if this was what reform was all about, there probably wouldn’t be such a ruckus. I mean, sure, federalizing vast swaths of American insurance regulation is a big deal, but it’s not the kind of thing that creates much excitement one way or the other (speaking of which, where are the state insurance commissioners on this?).

The President’s focus on these less controversial areas of reform is a clever strategy.  He is hoping that the controversial ways in which reform proposals would impact the way health care is actually delivered will get through as some kind of a no-big-deal add-on.

It’s a risky gambit.

Anxiety about reform is based on worries that the government wants to mess with people’s health care in ways that are unclear, but meant to be very important.  The anxiety is heightened by a sense that leaders aren’t leveling with us about what they plan to do.

Unless he is going to come out with his own proposal that really is just focused on insurance market reforms, the President runs the risk of falling into this trap.  Opponents will point to all the ways that proposed reforms are about much more than just changes to insurance regulation.  It will be hard to blame ordinary Americans for thinking that here is yet another politician not leveling with them on a very important issue.