Research Briefing

Which Falsehoods Will Obama Repeat Today?

Next Stop On President Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Road Trip: Minneapolis, MN. “President Barack Obama will travel to Minnesota on Saturday and attend a health care reform rally in Minneapolis. White House officials say that the trip will be part of a push to build momentum out of Obama’s prime time address to a joint session of Congress tonight on health care reform.” (Ed Henry, “Obama To Take Health Care Pitch On The Road This Weekend,” CNN’s "Political Ticker" Blog, 9/9/09)

 WHICH FALSEHOODS FROM WEDNESDAY’S SPEECH WILL OBAMA CONTINUE TO PUSH?

Will It Be His Falsehood About Americans Burdened With Hidden Taxes For Uncompensated Care For Uninsured? “And it’s why those of us with health insurance are also paying a hidden and growing tax for those without it—about $1000 per year that pays for somebody else’s emergency room and charitable care.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09

• THE TRUTH: Doctors Call Obama’s Claim “Misperception,” Uncompensated Care “Very Minor Player” In Health Care Costs. “A common corollary in the debate over the cost of the uninsured is that much of their uncompensated care is paid for by the privately insured through cost-shifting … However, as will be detailed below, the evidence shows that attributing increased private health insurance premiums to expanded coverage to the uninsured is a misperception … What seems reasonably clear, however, is that uncompensated care is at most a very minor player in the economics of hospital cost-shifting.” (Jack Hadley, Ph.D., John Holahan, Ph.D., Teresa Coughlin, M.P.H., and Dawn Miller, “Covering the Uninsured in 2008: A Detailed Examination Of Current Costsand Sources of Payment, And Incremental Costs of Expanding Coverage,” Prepared for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 8/08)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Health Industry Groups Supporting His Health Care Plan? “Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses; hospitals, seniors’ groups, and even drug companies ...” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Health Industry Leaders Believe Obama “Overstated” Their Commitment.  “Already, some leaders of the health care industry who appeared at the White House on May 11 say the president may have overstated their cost-control commitment. Three days after the gathering, hospital executives said that they had agreed to help save $2 trillion by gradually slowing the growth of health spending, but that they did not commit to cutting the growth rate by 1.5 percentage points each year for 10 years.”  (Robert Pear, “Antitrust Laws Loom As Hurdle In Obama Effort To Overhaul Health Care,” The New York Times, 5/27/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Government-Run Health Care Decreasing Costs? “The plan I’m announcing tonight … will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: New Regulations On Health Insurance Causes Price Of Coverage To Rise. “Each benefit mandate raises the price of health insurance a little bit. These increases accumulate … Because the House and Senate bills contain versions of community rating and guaranteed issue mandates, they would benefit those with predictably high costs.  At the same time, the President wants to slow the growth of overall (total/average) private health insurance premiums, and we need to understand how much the mandates in these bills would exacerbate that problem.” (Keith Hennessey, “New Health Insurance Mandates Would Increase Premiums,” KeithHennessey.com, 7/23/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Americans Not Losing Their Current Plans, Doctors Under Government-Run Health Care? “[N]othing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this:  Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Over 88 Million People Would Lose Current Insurance Under Government-Run Health Care. “Under current law, there will be about 158.1 million people who are covered under an employer plan as workers, dependents or early retirees in 2011. If the act were fully implemented in that year, about 88.1 million workers would shift from private employer insurance to the public plan.” (John Shelis, Vice President, Lewin Group, “Analysis Of The July 15 draft Of The American Affordable Health Choices Act Of 2009,” 7/23/09)

• And Obama’s Cuts To Medicare Will Force Doctors To Drop Patients. “[L]awmakers are on track to approve across-the-board federal payment reductions of $155 billion over 10 years for hospitals ... Mayo and similar health systems object to the sweeping cuts. ‘Across-the-board cuts will be harmful to everyone and we think it is particularly bad to penalize the high-value organizations,’ said Jeff Korsmo, executive director of the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center. ‘We will have to violate our values in order to stay in business and reduce our access to government patients.’” (Phil Galewitz, “‘Model’ Health Systems Press Case For Medicare Fix In Reform,” Kaiser Health News, 7/20/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Savings Achieved Through Preventative Care? “And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies -- (applause) -- because there’s no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse.  That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: CBO Found No Evidence Preventative Medicare Will Save Money, And Evidence It Might Raise Costs. “Although different types of preventive care have different effects on spending, the evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall.” (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nathan Deal, 8/7/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Government Bureaucrats Not Rationing Care? “Some of people’s concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost.  The best example is the claim made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens.  Now, such a charge would be laughable if it weren’t so cynical and irresponsible.  It is a lie, plain and simple.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Obama Health Care Advisor Says “Comparative Effectiveness Research” Could Lead To Rationing Treatments Based On Age. “The complete lives system discriminates against older people ... Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination; every person lives through different life stages rather than being a single age. Even if 25-year-olds receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now was previously 25 years.” (Govind Persad, Alan Wertheimer, Ezekiel J Emanuel, “Principles For Allocation Of Scarce Medical Interventions,” Lancet 2009; 373: 423–31, 1/31/09)

• And Congressional Dems Want New Health Insurance Czar That Would Dictate What Treatments Would Be Funded. “A qualified health benefits plan shall meet a medical loss ratio as defined by the Commissioner. For any plan year in which the qualified health benefits plan does not meet such medical loss ratio, QHBP offering entity shall provide in a manner specified by the Commissioner for rebates to enrollees of payment sufficient to meet such loss ratio ... The Commissioner shall build on the definition and methodology developed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the amendments made by section 161 for determining how to calculate the medical loss ratio. Such methodology shall be set at the highest level medical loss ratio possible that is designed to ensure adequate participation by QHBP offering entities, competition in the health insurance market in and out of the Health Insurance Exchange, and value for consumers so that their premiums are used for services.” (H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,” Introduced 7/14/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Illegal Immigrants Not Being Covered In His Plan? “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false—the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: House Democrats Defeated Amendment To Prevent Illegal Immigrants From Getting Government-Funded Health Insurance. “An amendment offered by Rep. Nathan Deal, R-GA., would require that the millions of new people who will be ‘automatically enrolled’ in Medicaid under this legislation demonstrate that they are American citizens. Currently, there are 11.1 million illegal aliens residing in the United States. This amendment would prevent the crippling burden of providing free healthcare to these non-citizens from falling on the shoulders of the U.S. taxpayer… This amendment was voted down 29 to 28.” (House Energy And Commerce Committee Republicans, “House Energy And Commerce Committee Republicans Committee Votes,” Press Release, 7/31/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Abortion Not Being Funded Under His Plan? “And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up—under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Obama Said That Forcing All Insurance Companies To Cover Abortion Was “At The Center, And The Heart” Of His Health Care Plan. "In my mind, reproductive care is essential care.  It is basic care. So it is at the center, and the heart, of the plan that I propose... [I]nsurers are going to have to abide by the same rules in terms of providing comprehensive care, including reproductive care ... that’s going to be absolutely vital." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Planned Parenthood Action Fund Conference, 7/17/07)

• And House Democrats Defeated Amendment Sponsored By Fellow Democrat To Prevent Funding Of Abortion. “No funds authorized under this Act (or any amendment made by this Act) may be used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion, except in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or unless the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.” (Amendment To The Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 3200 Offered By Mr. Stupak Of Michigan And Mr. Pitts Of Pennsylvania, Failed: 27-31, 7/31/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Government-Run Health Care Not Increasing The Deficit? “I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Dems’ Bill Would Add $239 Billion Deficit In 10 Years. “According to CBO’s and JCT’s assessment, enacting H.R. 3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period.” (Douglas Elmendorf, “Preliminary Analysis Of The House Democrats’ Health Reform Proposal,” CBO Director’s Blog, 7/18/09)

• And Obama, Congressional Dems Ready To Ignore “No-New-Deficits Pledge.” “Though there’s no final plan yet, the White House and congressional Democrats already have shown they’re ready to skirt the no-new-deficits pledge. House Democrats offered a bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would add $220 billion to the deficit over 10 years. But Democrats and Obama administration officials claimed the bill actually was deficit-neutral. They said they simply didn’t have to count $245 billion of it — the cost of adjusting Medicare reimbursement rates so physicians don’t face big annual pay cuts…  In other words, it doesn’t have to be paid for because they decided it doesn’t have to be paid for.” (Calvin Woodward And Erica Werner, “FACT CHECK: Obama Uses Iffy Math On Deficit Pledge,” The Associated Press, 9/9/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About His Cuts To Medicare Not Hurting Seniors? “The only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud, as well as unwarranted subsidies in Medicare that go to insurance companies – subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don’t improve the care of seniors … So don’t pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut… That will not happen on my watch.  I will protect Medicare.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Dems Admit Cuts Could Force Doctors To Decline Seniors On Medicare. “Rep. Eric Massa [D-NY] said tightening provider payments could lead to access problems for patients. ‘We will force doctors to decline Medicare patients,’ he said after a raucous town-hall meeting in Upstate New York. ‘If we believe these savings are there, let’s test the concept. But we can’t hinge the entire funding of this bill on these not-yet-seen savings.’” (Ceci Connolly, “Seniors Remain Wary Of Health-Care Reform,” The Washington Post, 8/9/09)

• And Obama’s Cuts To Medicare Advantage Will Reduce Benefits For Seniors. “Mr. Obama has repeatedly said, ‘Nobody is talking about cutting Medicare benefits.’ At the same time, he wants to eliminate what he describes as ‘unwarranted subsidies’ and giveaways to private Medicare Advantage plans, which use some of the money to provide extra benefits.” (Robert Pear, “A Basis Is Seen For Some Health Plan Fears Among The Elderly,” The New York Times, 8/20/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Savings From Drug Companies Will Pay For Much Of His Plan? “Reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of this plan. Much of the rest would be paid for with revenues from the very same drug and insurance companies that stand to benefit from tens of millions of new customers.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: Obama’s Deal With The Drug Companies “Might Actually Increase The Government’s Costs For The Drug Benefit.”  “President Obama said Monday that drugmakers’ agreement to reduce drug prices for seniors is a ‘significant breakthrough’ for lawmakers working on a health care overhaul. But the deal is probably more important to the politics of the issue than the policy….  The discounts, however, might actually increase the government’s costs for the drug benefit. John Calfee, a health policy analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that if seniors can buy cheaper drugs while in the ‘doughnut hole,’ they may pass through the gap more quickly, triggering the drug benefit’s catastrophic coverage sooner than they would otherwise.” (Alex Wayne, “Drug Discount May Win Support For Overhaul,” CQ Today, 6/22/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Obama Wanting To Work With Republicans? “I will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead.  If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to listen.  My door is always open.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: GOP Congressmen Told Obama They Want To Work With Him To Achieve Reform But Were Rebuffed. “Boehner told reporters that the president has not invited House GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform since the end of April. Earlier this year, GOP leaders sent a letter to the president in May stating that they would like to work with the administration to find ‘common ground’ on healthcare reform. But the administration responded with a tersely worded letter indicating that they had healthcare reform under control.” (Molly Hooper, “Boehner: GOP Leaders Haven’t Met Obama For Health Talks Since April,” The Hill’s “Briefing Room” Blog, 9/9/09)

Will It Be His Falsehood About Using McCain’s Proposals To Help Those Who Can’t Get Insurance Buy Coverage? “In the meantime, for those Americans who can’t get insurance today because they have preexisting medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill.  (Applause.)  This was a good idea when Senator John McCain proposed it in the campaign, it’s a good idea now, and we should all embrace it.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To A Joint Session Of Congress On Health Care, Washington, DC, 9/9/09)

• THE TRUTH: McCain’s Proposal Was To Empower State Flexibility, While Obama’s Proposal Is Washington-Run. “Based on the president’s remarks, one would be forgiven for thinking that Obama’s proposal on this subject is identical to McCain’s. It’s not. McCain’s proposal called for providing federal assistance to state-based high risk pools. Obama, by contrast, is calling for a national high risk pool, according to a White House document posted on-line which outlines the president’s plan.” (Teddy Davis, “Obama Didn’t Exactly Adopt McCain’s Proposal on High Risk Pools,” ABC News’s “The Note” Blog, 9/10/09)