Few issues present the stark reality of the gulf between our Congressional Republican “leadership” and the facts on the ground than what the policy experts are reporting about Obamacare. When I saw the above headline I assumed there would be maybe four myths to be addressed. I was wrong — there were double that. Here are the eight listed by National Center for Policy Analysis senior policy analyst John R. Graham in a post at the NCPA website:
Myth No. 1: If you like your health plan, you can keep it.
Myth No. 2: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
Myth No. 3: There is an “employer mandate” to offer affordable coverage.
Myth No. 4: Health reform will lower the cost of health insurance by $2,500 a year for the average family.
Myth No. 5: There is an “individual mandate” that ensures everyone has health coverage.
Let me interrupt for a moment — #6 astounds me and it’s the first I’ve heard of this one:
Myth No. 6: Individuals cannot be denied individual coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
What?! Here’s Graham:
This was only true if they applied for Obamacare coverage before March 31, 2014. If they missed that deadline, they cannot get coverage at all until November 15, 2014, unless they experience a life-qualifying event, such as getting married or having a child. In the individual market, prior to Obamacare, people could apply whenever they wanted to.
Back to the list:
Myth No. 7: Health insurers no longer can cancel a policy after an insured individual gets sick.
(Let me guess, you’re having the same reaction to #7 as I did to #6.)
Myth No. 8: Medicare has been strengthened.
Here is Graham’s conclusion:
Favorable media coverage of the 8 million people who have enrolled in health insurance via exchanges has allowed the administration and its allies to revive discredited claims about Obamacare’s benefits. The numbers touted by the administration disguise the fact that many of these people lost previous coverage in the period prior to open enrollment, and people are no longer free to acquire the health insurance they want. The real costs of Obamacare will continue to burden Americans, despite the apparent success of the first open enrollment. We need an alternative.
Read the entire report: NCPA
