For weeks, health insurance companies, Republican political operatives and politicians, and their media cheerleaders have thrown a thick blanket of lies over the national debate of health care reform. By now you've heard the one about how Obama is going to pull the plug on your granny. Maybe you also heard that illegal immigrants would soon be enjoying free health care on your dime. Or that new health care policies would be a bonanza for abortion clinics.
Most of the screamers we've seen at health care town hall meetings are obviously, at best, very uninformed about details of proposed reforms. What you may not know is that those uninformed views are largely the result of a deliberate, cynical campaign of outright, blatant dishonesty the likes of which this reporter hasn't seen in nearly 40 years of following politics. Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein summed up the risk the GOP is taking with its current tactics: "By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems."
Anti-reform B.S. has piled up so deeply, even congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon told reporter Michelle Goldberg, "You hear them repeat it enough and you just wonder what's going on. Do they have somebody crank out the talking points for them, and they're so marinated in them that they can't separate truth from fiction? Or is it that truth has become such a relative term that it no longer makes a difference?"
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has been at the forefront of opposition to health care reform, particularly the idea of giving consumers the choice of a public option. BCBSNC's CEO, Bob Greczyn even declared health care reform "un-American." In an ironic twist, BCBSNC also announced, "We believe a government-run plan would lower payment to doctors." Why is that ironic? This is the same BCBSNC that lost a $128 million lawsuit for fraudulently underpaying doctors.
N.C. politicians are getting in on the act, too. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory piped up, signed on with Americans for Prosperity, and gave speeches denouncing health care reform as a "federal government takeover" -- even though bills being considered rely on private insurance companies to provide coverage. The director of Americans for Prosperity, by the way, is Art Pope, a longtime, multi-millionaire GOP supporter who gave so much money to the state party, they named their Raleigh office building after him. And let's not forget the always, um, interesting Rep. Virginia Foxx of N.C.'s 5th District, who jumped on Sean Hannity's "creeping euthanasia" bandwagon by proclaiming that health care reform plans would "put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government" -- thus beating Sarah Palin's "death panels" comment to the finish line of the Biggest Liar contest.
The wild accusations currently being spread by reform opponents would be funny if health care reform wasn't such a critical issue, or if the charges weren't such brazen lies. So, you're wondering, what's really in the plans being considered? Here's a quick summary (keep in mind that the language of a final bill hasn't been hammered out yet):
The focus of all the plans being considered is a health insurance exchange, initiated by the government, in which consumers, small businesses and, eventually, large businesses will be able to buy insurance from private insurers at lower rates than are now available. New rules will require insurers to offer coverage to anyone regardless of health condition. Lower-income workers who buy insurance through the exchange -- along with their employers -- would qualify for government subsidies. Under any of the plans being considered, the vast majority of Americans who aren't poor or old will keep on buying health insurance from private companies, continue to get their health care from doctors in private practice, and will still be treated at privately owned hospitals. And that, in a nutshell, is it. Not exactly the evil, satanic, communistic, abortion-encouraging, Orwellian nightmare health system you've been hearing about, huh?
Today's exaggerators (yes, I'm being kind) have a precedent. In the 1960s, a fellow named Ronald Reagan scared audiences by famously saying, "[I]f you don't [stop Medicare], one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free." Since then, the rhetoric hasn't changed, it's just gotten worse.
Here, then, is a guide to the most widespread lies about health care reform, and the truth about each statement.
The Lie: Health care reform will bring government-mandated euthanasia. As part of the plan, every five years, people enrolled in Medicare will be required to go through a counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner.
The Truth: There is nothing in any plan being considered by Congress that would mandate any such actions, period. The provision in question merely states that once every five years, Medicare will pay for patients to consult with doctors about their options, if they want to, should they become incapacitated. It is completely voluntary. In other words, if, and only if, a patient wants to talk to his or her doctor about end-of-life issues, Medicare will pay for that consultation, but no more than once every five years. That's it. Anyone who wants to arrange for a "living will," detailing what they want in terms of end-of-life care, will be able to do so.
The Lie: Obama is lying when he says you may keep your existing plan. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner even said that if the House bill is passed, 100 million Americans would be forced into a government-run health plan.
The Truth: Again, not so. Individual policies already in effect will continue, so if a patient chooses to continue his or her current policy, that's fine, although note that the policy may not be altered. The House bill sets up a National Insurance Exchange. Those who choose to use the exchange will be able to pick from various private plans, as well as the public plan (assuming a public plan is passed). No one will be forced into a government-run plan. Period.
The Lie: Older people will be put at the bottom of the list for expensive treatments, in favor of younger people who are deemed to be more likely to contribute to society.
The Truth: This belief stems from a misreading of parts of current bills that call for "comparative effectiveness research." "Comparative effectiveness research" in this case simply means keeping track of which medical procedures work and which don't. None of the health care reform bills contain provisions for limiting care based on a patient's age or condition, no matter what you've heard. Critics are saying that Congress wants to set up a system, such as is used in Britain and Canada, in which cost-benefit analyses for patients' care can be used to determine recipients of highly expensive treatments. This system is not -- repeat, not -- what is being considered by Congress, and has not been proposed by the White House.
The Lie: Health care reform will cover illegal aliens.
The Truth: This is absolutely untrue. In fact, the bills under consideration clearly prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving federal funds to purchase health insurance from either a public or private plan. Obama has said he would like to consider whether the children of illegal immigrants should be covered, but such a measure is not included in any bills before Congress.
The Lie: The House bill will ruin small businesses by raising taxes on them and mandating that they cover all employees.
The Truth: The two Senate Committees working on the health care bill have removed the mandate for employers to provide health insurance coverage to their employees. The House bill has provisions to exclude very small businesses from the mandate. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, 96 percent of small businesses would see no tax increases under the House proposal. The House plan also includes some advantages for small businesses, which are currently little fish in the huge insurance pond, with little bargaining power to reduce premiums or lower prices. The House plan gives small businesses access to the National Insurance Exchange, providing them with the benefits of large-group rates, i.e., being able to negotiate lower premiums, etc. Moreover, the bill sets an annual out-of-pocket limit so that no small business owner, or employee's family, face bankruptcy as a result of medical expenses. Considering that small businesses owners, employees and their dependents currently account for 28 million of the 47 million Americans without health insurance, these improvements should save money, not cost more.
The Lie: Health care reform will create a huge new bureaucracy for consumers to deal with, making a visit to a doctor similar to visiting the DMV.
The Truth: Reform measures will no doubt create some bureaucracy, but it will deal primarily with health insurers, not patients. The upside for consumers is that there will necessarily be less bureaucratic intrusion into Americans' health care choices by those insurance companies, as they will not be allowed to hire outside agencies to investigate your past history (in order to see if they "should" deny you coverage). They also will no longer be allowed to hire their own bureaucrats whose job is to find nitpicky reasons, such as putting your Social Security number on the wrong line of a claim form, to deny your coverage.
The Lie: These bills are an attack on Medicare patients, cutting care for the elderly by $500 billion to pay for health care reform.
The Truth: This is another gross distortion by reform opponents. The House bill proposes $500 billion in savings for Medicare by eliminating overpayments, reforming how doctors are reimbursed, and creating incentives for coordinated care. These savings will actually strengthen Medicare by extending the program's Trust Fund solvency. Again, these are $500 billion in savings -- not cuts to Medicare.
The Lie: The government plans to interfere and insert itself into people's marriages.
The Truth: That assertion is a stretch, even for reform opponents. The truth is that the government will pay for marriage and family counseling as part of a public option. The bills do not designate what kind of counseling you should receive, so you'll be able to go to any counselor you wish, as long as your policy covers her or his services. What's kind of funny here is that the folks who want the government to determine who can and can't get married are now saying the government shouldn't help to preserve marriages.
The Lie: You will be denied the right to buy extra medical care if you can afford it.
The Truth: Again, NOT. The House bill establishes minimum standards for plans, not for maximum amounts spent. Plans are free to offer additional coverage beyond the minimum, including deluxe "multiple premium-plus options." If you want to buy additional treatment that is not covered by your plan, you will be free to do so.
The Lie: The government-run plan will funnel taxpayer dollars to abortion doctors, and mandate abortion coverage in all plans.
The Truth: Abortion is not mandated in any reform legislation. Presently, private insurers decide whether or not to cover abortions; if they wish, patients will be able to choose a plan that is in line with their beliefs about abortion.
The Lie: The government will tell doctors how much money they are allowed to make.
The Truth: Yes, of course -- that's probably why the AMA supports the House version of health care reform. That was sarcasm, dear readers. Once more, NO. Proposed reform legislation sets up payment terms of doctors under the public insurance plan, based on whether they are preferred, participating, or other providers -- which is what health insurance companies currently do. In other words, the government won't be telling doctors what they can earn any more than, say, Aetna or Blue Cross do now.
The Lie: A public option will force private insurance companies out of business.
The Truth: In fact, a public option will increase competition among insurance providers. Currently, only a few companies dominate the health insurance market, which doesn't leave Americans with many choices. The public option will make insurers meet consumers' demands, which is, after all, what the free market is all about.
The Lie: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfers.
The Truth: No it won't. The only mention of electronic funds transfers is a section discussing administrative standards, which authorizes electronic transfers of money within the government. In no way, shape or form will the government have access to individual bank accounts.
