Lie-Busting Health Care Reform

Ammunition for fending off the dead-enders, from Down With Tyranny:

Nancy Pelosi's blog laid out the big five lies-- she politely calls them myths-- that the GOP is expected to regurgitate endlessly on the House floor today:

MYTH #1: Health insurance reform is a “government takeover.”

FACT: The health insurance reform legislation expands private health insurance in America, and is based on increasing choice and competition-- providing for new marketplaces (called “Insurance Exchanges”) where the uninsured, small business employees, and the self-employed will be able to choose among a variety of private insurance plans.

MYTH #2: Health insurance reform slashes Medicare and hurts seniors.

FACT: Nothing in the health insurance reform reduces Medicare benefits for seniors. The reform achieves savings by cracking down on inefficiency, fraud and waste in Medicare-- targeted at private insurance companies and providers, not beneficiaries. These savings include cutting large and unnecessary overpayments to private insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans.

Rather than undermining Medicare, this bill strengthens Medicare. Much of the cost savings achieved are reinvested into Medicare-- improving benefits. In fact, the legislation lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the prescription drug donut hole, ensures free preventive care, and extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by nine years.

MYTH #3: Health insurance reform will cost businesses too much.

FACT: The status quo is unsustainable for the small business community-- 60 percent of America’s uninsured, or 28 million people-- are small business owners, workers, and their families. Insurance costs for small businesses have increased 129% since 2000.

The health insurance reform legislation before Congress provides $40 billion in tax credits for small businesses to help them offer coverage to their employees and exempts 96 percent of all businesses from the shared responsibility requirement.

MYTH #4: Health insurance reform is bad for the economy.

FACT: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the legislation will dramatically reduce the deficit-- by $143 billion in the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the second ten years-- reins in costs for most Americans, and is fully paid for.

MYTH #5: Health insurance reform includes a marriage penalty which will mean higher costs for those who get married.

FACT: This myth has nothing to do with health insurance reform-- it is a new criticism of how the federal poverty level has been calculated for decades-- under Republican and Democratic leadership alike.

Under all federal income-related assistance programs, total assistance provided to two single people is greater than the total assistance provided to a married couple for the simple fact that two people living together have lower expenses than two people living separately. (And the federal government assumes that single people are living separately and a married couple is living together.) It is considered good stewardship of tax dollars to reflect actual costs.

Two more lie-busters, the first from Defense Secretary William Gates:

As Secretary of Defense, the health and well-being of America's men and women in uniform is my highest priority.

Our troops and their families can be re-assured that the health care reform legislation being passed by the Congress will not negatively impact the TRICARE medical insurance program, as it already meets the bill's quality and minimum benefit standards. This was clarified by a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday and is expected to be re-affirmed by the Senate.

The President and I are committed to seeing that our troops, retirees and their families will continue to receive the best quality health care.

And the second from Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki:

As Secretary of Veterans Affairs, I accepted the solemn responsibility to uphold our sacred trust with our nation’s Veterans. Fears that Veterans health care and TRICARE will be undermined by the health reform legislation are unfounded. I am confident that the legislation being voted on today will provide the protections afforded our nation’s Veterans and the health care they have earned through their service. The President and I stand firm in our commitment to those who serve and have served in our armed forces. We pledge to continue to provide the men and women in uniform and our Veterans the high quality health care they have earned.

President Obama has strongly supported Veterans and their needs, specifically health care needs, on every major issue for these past 14 months – advance appropriations, new GI Bill implementation, new Agent Orange presumptions for three additional diseases, new Gulf War Illness presumptions for nine additional diseases, and a 16% budget increase in 2010 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, that is the largest in over 30 years, and which has been followed by a 2011 VA budget request that increases that record budget by an additional 7.6%.

To give our Veterans further assurance that health reform legislation will not affect their health care systems, the Chairmen of five House committees, including Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, have just issued a joint letter reaffirming that the health reform legislation as written would protect those receiving care through all TRICARE and Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

Yes, those who continue to lie about health care reform are desperate, dead-ender, rabid wolverines. Don't turn your back on them; don't just shake your head and walk away. Go on offense, and hit them with the facts.