Co-Pay Comic Relief

If you're looking for laughs, don't waste your time at Kaiser Permanente. After months of wheel-spinning, with ordinary Americans thoroughly confused on the issues, the ongoing universal health care debate has alas devolved into a campy melodrama on par with your average Latin telenovela.

Humor is that one necessary ingredient you'll find sorely missing from any town hall meeting, and the health care debacle is a brilliant example of modern American bombast, with far too many players taking themselves way too seriously. But leave it to Will Ferrell to inject a desperately needed dose of comic relief into what's become an increasingly stuffy atmosphere.

In a video released this week, Ferrell, MoveOn.org, and a handful of celebrity cohorts took a hilarious swipe at the health care industry, satirizing insurance companies as the victims of the reform. The mock advertisement, called “Protect Insurance Companies PSA,” was released on Funny Or Die, the video website of Gary Sanchez Productions (Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy) which showcases humor shorts by both well-known and up-and-coming comedians. The ad's subtitle is “Hollywood speaks out to help insurance companies,” and co-stars Masi Oka of “Heroes,” Donald Faison of “Scrubs,” Linda Cardinelli of “E.R.,” Olivia Wilde of “House,” and Jon Hamm from AMC's hit series, “Mad Men.”

“Something terrible is happening,” says Hamm in the opening shot, which fades into a pan on Ferrell, who informs us that “insurance companies are getting a bad rap.” Frame by frame, the message is delivered in one of those Concerned-Face-of-America montages with each actor saying a few words of the following passage: “As the health care debate heats up, we need to remember who the real victims are – health insurance executives.”

No matter your political pedigree, this tongue-in-cheek spoof is wonderful tapas that everyone should sample, if for no better reason than to stand back and enjoy a little self-deprecating laughter. Watch this instant classic below:

Photo features Will Ferrell in "Protect Insurance Companies PSA" courtesy of Funny Or Die.