Touting how “over ten million people have now signed up for health insurance under the ObamaCare law,” NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt on Thursday night trumpeted “the ObamaCare law now directly effecting so many families who say it’s been quite literally a lifesaver.”
Chris Jansing delivered heartwarming anecdotes about people who have benefitted and only, at the very end of her report, did she squeeze in a brief mention of how some have been hurt.
Jansing provided the first of two profiles of families that have benefitted from being enrolled in ObamaCare and had “their costs...cut in half” with “today’s ruling mean[ing] they don’t have to worry about coverage.”
Jansing continued gushing over the law by touting the rate of the uninsured: “The rate of uninsured Americans has never been lower, dropping from about 17 percent to under 13 percent a year with the largest plunge among blacks and lower-income Americans.”
After a second profile of another family that’s had a positive experience with ObamaCare, Jansing snagged a fourth pro-ObamaCare soundbite with this one coming from Alexandria, Virginia-based Dr. Basim Khan: “They don't have to make difficult trade offs, for example, paying the rent or paying for gas and trying to weigh that against health insurance.”
At the conclusion of her report, it was only then that Jansing noted how “not everyone is happy about the ruling.” However, she cautioned that: “While different studies come up with different numbers, some people have seen their rates go up, others have been forced into better coverage that does cost more, and for those who choose not to be insured, many will pay a fine.”
Appropriately, the piece ended with Jansing passing along some White House spin: “White House officials believe that like Social Security and Medicare before this, the longer ObamaCare is part of people's lives, the more they’ll like it.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from June 25 NBC Nightly News:
NBC Nightly News
June 25, 2015
7:05 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: ObamaCare Victory]
LESTER HOLT: And across the country, over ten million people have now signed up for health insurance under the ObamaCare law as the number of Americans without insurance creeps lower. It's a result a lot of people didn't expect after that rocky rollout. The ObamaCare law now directly effecting so many families who say it's been quite literally a lifesaver. Our senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing reports.
CHRIS JANSING: After Tom Tart had open heart surgery in North Carolina, he couldn't work and lost his insurance. With no pension and living off their savings, the Tart's health insurance was $1600 a month.
LINDA TART: It's scary because you don't know how long you're going to live and how much money you're going to need.
JANSING: With ObamaCare subsidies, their costs have been cut in half and today's ruling means they don't have to worry about coverage. The Tarts are far from alone. The rate of uninsured Americans has never been lower, dropping from about 17 percent to under 13 percent a year with the largest plunge among blacks and lower-income Americans. Quinn Jackson and her husband were self-employed when Joe got a rare and aggressive tumor in his jaw.
(....)
JANSING: The surgery took 12 hours. Joe was hospitalized for 15 days, including four in intensive care. The bill? $195,000, but they got coverage for a preexisting condition under ObamaCare. At a neighborhood clinic in Alexandria, Virginia, the decision was greeted with relief by doctors and their patients.
NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DR. BASIM KHAN: They don't have to make difficult trade offs, for example, paying the rent or paying for gas and trying to weigh that against health insurance.
JANSING: Joe Jackson is recovering well and while there’s a chance the tumor could come back, he knows he’s covered.
(....)
JANSING: But she's no longer scared if they will have insurance when they need it. Of course, not everyone is happy about the ruling. While different studies come up with different numbers, some people have seen their rates go up, others have been forced into better coverage that does cost more, and for those who choose not to be insured, many will pay a fine. White House officials believe that like Social Security and Medicare before this, the longer ObamaCare is part of people's lives, the more they’ll like it.
