Have you turned on your TV today? Have you listened to a political show on the radio?
If your answer is yes, then chances are you’ve heard the “blockbuster” story from NBC News, basically claiming that President Obama lied when he promised Americans that they will not lose their present health insurance because of Obamacare. The story says that the president knew he was lying some 3 years ago.
The story goes something like this:
“Millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.”
Chances are you are probably scratching your head right now, trying to figure out why the president lied to you.
Well scratch no more friends. This so-called “blockbuster” news from NBC is nothing more than another Republican talking point.
The blockbuster breaking news say that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.
ThinkProgress’s Igor Volsky provides some context that bursts NBC’s “blockbuster.”
This all sounds very ominous until you consider that the naturally high turnover rate associated with the individual market means that it’s highly unlikely that individuals would still be enrolled in plans from 2010 in 2014. In fact, the Obama administration publicly admitted this when it issued the regulations in 2010, leading Republicans like Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) to seize on the story in order to push for repeal of the grandfather regulations. Here is a story in The Hill from Sep. 22, 2010 pointing to this very same 40 to 67 percent range. […]
The debate was widely covered in the press, so it’s unclear what exactly the NBC investigation unit has uncovered.
Perhaps it’s because the NBC investigation unit is incapable of remembering back as far as three years. Or of conducting basic research. Or of taking Republican talking points with the boulder of salt required. Or of creating context, which is this: People are going to be getting more generous, more comprehensive health insurance, that won’t have lifetime caps, that they can’t be kicked out of if they get horribly ill, that won’t charge them more if they’re a woman. Some people will have to pay more for that better insurance than they did for their existing crappy plans, but many of them are going to financial assistance to pay for the better insurance.
