An independent experimental fact-checking site, exploring and advocating ways to make fact-checking better.
We were recently reminded of the allegation that tea party members don’t understand that Medicare is a government insurance program. The reminder came with photographic evidence: an early tea party rally featuring a person holding a sign that read “Keep government out of my Medicare! You damn socialists!” The sign didn’t look quite right. Suspecting a Photoshop job, we looked…
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“It’s capitalism. You can go out and buy whatever you want, but the insurance company realizes they can’t sell this lousy insurance policy anymore.” —Frank Pallone, Oct. 31, 2013 Overview Rep. Pallone’s description of the reasons behind the recent raft of insurance policy cancellations creates a freakishly distorted picture of reality. The Facts Rep. Frank Pallone (D—N.J.) appeared on…
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“[Sen. Ted] Cruz said Obamacare has led to premiums going up and up and up for virtually every person.” —PolitiFact, Oct. 17, 2013 Overview PolitiFact provides a sterling example of settling on an improbable interpretation of a politician’s statement. The Facts On Oct. 17, 2013, mainstream fact checker PolitiFact examined a statement from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): “President…
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“Myth #2: Premium Prices Will Increase Due To Health Care Law” —Media Matters for America, Oct. 1, 2013 Overview If saying it makes it true then Media Matters has a good argument. The Facts On Oct. 1, 2013, Media Matters for America published a list of what it calls “myths” about the health care law, commonly known as the ACA…
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“The total cost of the Affordable Care Act to provide health insurance for every American out there at an affordable rate is costing about the same amount over the course of ten years as the cost of the prescription-drug bill that President Bush passed.” —President Barack Obama, Sept. 24, 2013 Overview The president simplifies a complicated picture in ways…
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“Not long ago, the GOP took the government to the brink of shutdown, trying to defund Planned Parenthood. And now they’re threatening to shut down the government if they can’t destroy Obamacare. “If they’re successful, it’s really bad for women and families. We’ll go back to a time when insurance didn’t have to fully cover birth control. When simply being…
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“Clinton was right—63 percent of young Republicans, compared to only 45 percent of young Democrats had signed on to their parents’ plan, something they couldn’t have done without passage of Obama’s law.” —PolitiFact, Sept. 5, 2013 Overview PolitiFact grades the literal interpretation of a trivial claim “True,” and passes a stinker of an underlying argument off on its readers….
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“Contradicting Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation, a study from the RAND Corporation reports that the Affordable Care Act is unlikely to cause a hike in premiums for the individual market in this state or nationally.” —Carol Gentry, Florida Health News, Aug. 30, 2013 Overview Florida Health News‘ Carol Gentry lacks balance with her reporting on a RAND study looking…
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On July 19, 2013 the Washington Post Fact Checker, Glenn Kessler, published a fact check of President Obama’s claim that the ACA’s medical loss ratio rules saved consumers $3.4 billion. That interested us, for we fact checked a version of the same claim coming from Consumer Reports. Finding other fact checkers investigating similar claims provides an opportunity to see how…
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Editor’s note July 28, 2013: The following is a revised version of a fact check first published on July 14, 2013. An entry in our Corrections section describes the reason for the changes. “[The Affordable Care Act] has already saved consumers billions.” —Nancy Metcalf, Consumer Reports, June 21, 2013 Overview The Consumer Reports claim ignores all the…
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