Thanks to an incomplete report from CBS detailing the story of 56-year-old Florida resident Dianne Barrette, Fox thought they would use Barrette’s story to show the perils of Obamacare. But instead, Fox showed what CBS intentionally left out of their report.
Barrette’s story?
As reported by the main stream media Jan Crawford of CBS, Barrette received a letter from her insurance company telling her that they were cancelling her insurance plan mainly because of new regulations under Obamacare. Barrette told the network that on her old policy, her insurance bill was about $54 a month. But with the cancellation , her insurance company is offering her a new policy costing around$600 a month.
Eager to get this story out and prove that President Obama lied when he said, “if you like your present plan you can keep it,” Jan Crawford of CBS failed to do her basic research into the story. They put the story out for the masses and viola! Barrette’s story and her unfortunate situation with Obamacare was the talk of Conservative media.
If CBS was honest, they would have included that Barrette’s plan was garbage. She had no hospitalization coverage and any service she requested, her insurance only paid $50.00, leaving Barrette to cover the balance, whatever that balance was. This part of Berrette’s story was not told… until Berrette made a trip over to, of all places, Fox News.
In her interview on Fox, host Greta Van Susteren went out of character for a Fox employee. Sustern asked Berrette some basic questions and concluded that I’ll plan was indeed garbage. Greta all also concluded, that a better a plan might be available to Barrette on the Obamacare marketplace.
VAN SUSTEREN: I must say though that your policy is like, you know, if you are walking across the street and someone runs a red light, you are in deep trouble under your existing policy.
BARRETTE: That is true.
Stories like Barrette’s are being told all over conservative media, and unfortunately they’re following the CBS method of storytelling, leaving out vital information that will help consumers better understand the new healthcare law.
Why are all these people getting cancellation notices from their insurance companies?
Because of Obamacare. That’s the answer. But not because these are great policies, but because Obamacare has set a set of standards that all insurance policies must meet. And if a consumer like Barrette has a policy that doesn’t meet these new standards, then according to Obamacare, she is being shortchanged and the insurance company must offer her a policy that will actually help.
That doesn’t seem like a bad thing to me. Too bad CBS couldn’t tell the full story!
