Spin Doctor? CNN's Medical Correspondent -- and Former Candidate for Obama's Surgeon General -- Touts ObamaCare Benefits

June 28th, 2012 6:26 PM

Once a candidate to be President Obama's surgeon general – and thus the mouthpiece for ObamaCare – Dr. Sanjay Gupta touted the benefits of ObamaCare throughout the day on Thursday, after the Supreme Court upheld the law. CNN's own medical correspondent was essentially defending the law by explaining its benefits to different guests.

Two health care activists were among the guests who came to Gupta and defended the bill. CNN didn't identify them as pro-ObamaCare, however, even though their respective organizations supported the law.

One of the guests from Doctors for America, born out of the group "Doctors for Obama" and sponsored by the Center for American Progress, told CNN the quality of health care would improve and the number of doctors would increase under ObamaCare. She also knocked down a strawman argument by claiming many doctors who object to ObamaCare do so out of "monetary gain."

Another guest, an activist who founded VoteHealthcare.org, actually helped Gupta explain the benefits of ObamaCare. Her daughter, she said, is "one pink slip away from no health insurance. But not after today." She added that "we can sleep now because we know she'll be able to buy a policy."

Gupta simply described her as a "viewer" and not until the end of the interview did CNN note that she was Kathlie McClure, the founder of the website. No mention was given that the website celebrated ObamaCare.

Gupta himself explained the law's benefits as well, just like the health care activist did. He gave this positive take on the law's community rating: "So for a lot of people who have illnesses or have children, as you do, Kathie, with illnesses, this is a way for them to get health care insurance where maybe they couldn't have gotten it before or it would have been prohibitively expensive."

Gupta continued noting the benefits of the new bill. "[I]f you have health care insurance and then you get sick, in the past you could have been dropped. That can no longer happen."