As NewsBusters has been reporting, NBC News has largely ignored senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers’ bombshell report about how the White House knew for at least three years that millions of people would lose their health insurance once ObamaCare was implemented.
Having given only 21 seconds to her report Monday, the NBC Nightly News actually began with Myers talking about the millions of people losing their insurance coverage, but not once did she mention her findings that the Obama administration knew for years that this was going to happen (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BRIAN WILLIAMS, HOST: On our broadcast tonight: At what cost? The president campaigned on it. He said if you like your insurance you can keep it. But tonight, more of our reporting on the millions of Americans finding out their plans will have to change. […]
WILLIAMS: But again this evening, it's a big problem on the part of the government that starts off our broadcast. Specifically, this new healthcare law. Beyond the colossal problems with the website well-chronicled, now it's the assurances by the president that are drawing scrutiny when he told Americans if you like your healthcare plan you could keep it.
Well, with insurance companies discontinuing some policies of some people, we are finding that’s no longer the case as many deal with the potential for new higher costs. Our senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers broke this story last night, and has more for us tonight from Washington. Lisa, good evening.
LISA MYERS: Brian, good evening. So far almost 2 million of the 14 million Americans who buy individual coverage have gotten letters that their policy is cancelled or has to change because of the law. Still, the White House insists the president did not mislead Americans when he promised everyone could keep their insurance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Here's a guarantee that I've made: if you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: That doesn't sit well with George Schwab who's retired, started a new business, and been told because of the new healthcare law, his current policy is no longer available because it doesn't meet minimum standards. His new policy comes with a premium increase of more than 400 percent.
GEORGE SCHWAB: I just wish I could have my insurance back. I just, that's what I want.
MYERS: He now has to pay for more than he wants, including maternity coverage for his 59-year-old wife.
SCHWAB: I just don't think this was all that well thought out, and I think the intentions were good, but, you know, there's a lot of things that need to be fixed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONGRESSMAN KEVIN BRADY (R-TEXAS): My constituents are frightened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: On Capitol Hill, the first administration official to appear since the botched rollout of the ObamaCare website apologized, but insisted to a somewhat incredulous audience that the system is now working.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CONGRESSMAN: The system right now is working?
MARILYN TAVENNER, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: I'm saying it's working, it's just not working at the speed that want and at the success rate that we want.
CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP (R-MICHIGAN), CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE: How do you not know how many people have enrolled?
TAVENNER: Chairman Camp, we'll have those numbers available in mid-November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: The president’s spokesman emphasized that those losing their coverage are getting better plans and sometimes subsidies. He seemed to rephrase the president's promise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: If you had insurance that you liked on an individual market and you wanted to keep that insurance through 2010, 11, 12, 13, and in perpetuity if you wanted it and it was available, you could.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: A reminder that 80 percent of Americans are not impacted by this because they get their insurance through their employer, Medicaid or Medicare. Now, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the Hill for the first time tomorrow since the rollout and will face tough questions. Brian.
WILLIAMS: Lisa Myers starting us off from our D.C. newsroom. Lisa, thank you.
Amazing.
So the Nightly News devoted a whopping 21 seconds to Myers' report Monday, and when she came on Tuesday to address the millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage due to ObamaCare, she completely ignored her finding that the White House knew about this for at least three years.
Now in her defense, Myers did address this on a few MSNBC programs Tuesday as well as on CNBC. However, her report got absolutely no coverage on Tuesday's Today show.
As the Today show and the Nightly News are NBC News's highest-rated programs - with the latter now averaging over 8 million viewers a night - it seems pretty clear that the folks at NBC really don't want people to know what Myers uncovered.
As Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Media Research Center, observed Tuesday, "This sends a clear message to the American people. As far as the liberal broadcast networks are concerned, when Barack Obama lies, it’s not news. What would Richard Nixon have given for a press corps this corrupt?”
