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“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more than 7 million Americans have signed up for private health coverage.” —the White House, April 2014 on the whitehouse.gov website Overview The White House generously doles out undeserved credit to itself. The Facts The White House website has a menu option for exploring the administration’s stance on issues. Clicking the “Health Care”…
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“Most people on the individual market are getting more benefits under the law. At worst, they’re paying more to get more, though in many cases they’re actually paying less.” —PolitiFact, from a March 20, 2014 fact check of an Americans for Prosperity ad. Overview Is “Fact Checkers for Mendacity” the answer to Americans For Prosperity? The Facts The political…
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“The ad certainly leaves the impression (Andrea) Kodad had to give up her plan. Given the circumstances, her tale of woe from November seems rather out of date.” —Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post Fact Checker, in a column from May 7, 2014 Overview The Washington Post Fact Checker fails to offer charitable interpretation to an Obamacare attack ad, with…
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“Myth: Obamacare requires American taxpayers to fund abortion.” —The Democratic National Committee, Nov. 25, 2013 on its “Your Republican Uncle” website Overview The DNC’s claim helps remind us that complex issues are easily oversimplified. The DNC simplifies this claim in a misleading way. The Facts We continue our series on the Democratic National Committee’s “Your Republican Uncle” website with…
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“Myth: Obamacare is a government takeover of the health care system.” —The Democratic National Committee on its “Your Republican Uncle” website, Nov. 25, 2013 Overview The DNC says it’s a myth that the ACA represents a government takeover of the health care system. The DNC’s case unwittingly undermines itself. The Facts We continue our series of ratings for claims…
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“Myth: Obamacare hurts businesses.” —The Democratic National Committee on its “Your Republican Uncle” website, Nov. 25, 2013 Overview The DNC’s attempt to turn truth into myth creates a distortion of a distortion. The Facts In late 2013, the Democratic National Committee created a website it says gives Democrats answers to Republican myths. We continue our fact check series of…
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“Myth: Obamacare isn’t working.” —The Democratic National Committee, December 2013 on its “Your Republican Uncle” website Overview An ambiguous claim misleads, as ambiguous claims often do. The Facts Having completed fact checks dealing with the Democratic National Committee’s claims about the economy, we move on to the DNC’s set of claims about health care at its “Answering Your Republican…
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How PolitiFact’s 2013 “Lie of the Year” selection was even worse than you thought It was Nov. 4, 2013, and insurance companies had already started to send cancellation notices to customers whose policies failed to meet the administration’s “essential benefits” standards under the Affordable Care Act. The media recognized the failure of the president’s pledge that Americans could keep the…
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“[T]he International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans … found that about three-quarters of all employer-sponsored health plans already meet the criteria of the Affordable Care Act.” —PunditFact, Nov. 20, 2013 Overview PunditFact, the pundit-checking branch of PolitiFact, misuses a 2013 survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans to help excuse insurance plan cancellations under the ACA. The…
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“Today we saw a clear contrast: Democrats are working to fix and improve the Affordable Care Act, while Republicans still want to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny people coverage for pre-existing conditions, treat being a woman as a pre-existing condition, and watch health care costs drive families into bankruptcy.” —Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nov….
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