Calvin Woodward finally got around to "fact-checking" Obamacare's "slippery claims" this morning, 3-1/2 years after the Affordable Care Act became law and the day before open enrollment in its state insurance exchanges was to begin. Way to be there when it matters, Cal.
Woodward's report (also saved here for future reference, fair use and discussion purposes) also mixed in budget showdown issues, and buried President Barack Obama's original false claim, that "If you like your health plan, you can keep it," in a very late paragraph. Such courage (/sarcasm). Excerpts follow the jump (bolds are mine):
FACT CHECK: SLIPPERY CLAIMS ON HEALTH LAW, BUDGET
... The president is being a bit slippery on the costs of coverage, in particular.
His opponents are taking their own liberties as they talk up the ills of what they deride as "Obamacare" and defend their approach to the budget impasse that threatens to close parts of the government come Tuesday.
On these points, caveat emptor:
OBAMA: "Knowing you can offer your family the security of health care, that's priceless. Now, you can do it for the cost of your cable bill, probably less than your cellphone bill. Think about that, good health insurance for the price of your cellphone bill or less." - Speech in Largo, Md., on Thursday.
THE FACTS: The family coverage you can get for the cost of a monthly cable or cellphone bill is going to expose you to a hefty share of your medical expenses. Looked at in terms of digital communications, it's more like dial-up Internet than 4G.
... REP. KEVIN McCARTHY, R-Calif.: "When we started this health care debate, the president led with a very big promise to the American people: If you like the health care that you have, that you currently have, you can keep it." - At a Sept. 20 House Republican rally after passage of the bill that would finance the government on condition the health care law is starved of money.
... THE FACTS: McCarthy is correct, Obama said exactly that. It was an empty promise, made repeatedly. ...
Nothing in the health care law guarantees that people can keep the health insurance they already have. Costs can rise, benefits can change and employers can drop coverage.
That final excerpted statement, "Nothing in the health care law guarantees that people can keep the health insurance they already have," has been true — and known — for 3-1/2 years, and the press has almost never questioned it.
So I'm not at all impressed that Calvin Woodward and the Associated Press finally definitively called out Barack Obama's lie from Day One about Obamacare coverage. I'm appalled it has taken so long, and that when it finally happened, it showed up in Paragraph 15.
Everyone else should also be appalled.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
