In the first of many misleading attacks on Dr. Ami Bera by out-of-state billionaires, Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS is misleading Californians on Ami Bera’s record in order to prop up former Congressman Doug Ose.
For a fact-check of the ad, please see below:
FACT-CHECK: Crossroads GPS Ad – “Repeal” – 8.19.14
Claim – ACA is “expected to cost taxpayers $2 trillion”
Ruling – Crossroads Ad Ignores ACA Impact on Deficit Reduction.
In August 2014, Crossroads utilized the gross cost figure of $2,004 billion from the CBO’s February 2014 report and omitted the reference to an overall reduction in federal deficits.
[Crossroads GPS ad, “Repeal,” 8/19/14; CBO report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024,” 2/04/14]
CBO: “Total Effect of the ACA would be to Reduce Federal Deficits.”
[CBO report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024,” 2/04/14]
CBO: ACA Repeal Would Raise Deficit by Over $100 Billion over 10 Years.
“Congressional budget analysts said Wednesday that repealing ObamaCare would increase the deficit by scrapping the law’s taxes, fees and spending cuts. […] Director Doug Elmendorf pointed to an estimate from July 2012 that abolishing healthcare reform would raise the deficit by $109 billion over 10 years.”
[The Hill, 5/15/13; Congressional Budget Office,“Letter to the Honorable John Boehner Providing Estimate for H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act”, 7/24/12]
PolitiFact Called Similar Claim “Extreme Cherry-Picking.”
In 2012, while analyzing—and rating false—an ad that similarly utilized the then-current $1,726 billion gross cuts figure, PolitiFact characterized the use of gross cuts, by itself, as “extreme cherry-picking” because “it doesn’t account for the law’s tax increases, spending cuts or other cost-saving measures.” PolitiFact went on to state that the CBO had also said that “the overall the health care bill actually reduces government spending by about $124 billion over 10 years.”
[PolitiFact Florida, 7/10/12]
Claim – ACA “increase[s] taxes by $800 billion”
Ruling – FactCheck.org Called $800 Billion Claim “Misleading on Several Levels.”
In 2014, FactCheck.org called a similar claim made by Senator Tim Scott “misleading on several levels.” “Sen. Tim Scott claims that the Affordable Care Act’s taxes of $800 billion hit small businesses and families. But that’s misleading on several levels: It overlooks the tax credits available to both; much of the 10-year tax figure Scott cited affects individuals earning more than $200,000, a small fraction of all taxpayers; and there are few taxes directly affecting small businesses…About 40 percent of those $800 billion in taxes, meanwhile, hits families earning more than $250,000, for married couples, or $200,000 for single individuals. ”
[FactCheck.org, 2/05/14]
Repeal would Eliminate $1 Trillion in Tax Credits to Help People Afford Health Care.
The Washington Post reported that between 2013 and 2022: “CBO, for instance, indicates that middle-income Americans would receive about $1 trillion in premium credits in this 10-year period.” Forbes reported: “Just this past month, the very same CBO that estimated that repealing Obamacare would lessen tax revenues by $1 trillion over 10 years, put out another estimate revealing that Obamacare will provide the American middle-class with something in excess of $1 trillion in health insurance premium subsidies (tax credits) over the very same ten year period.”
Repeal would Eliminate Tax Credits for Small Businesses Offering Coverage to their Workers.
“Starting in 2014, the tax credit created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act will allow certain businesses with fewer than 25 full-time employees to get a 50 percent reduction in the cost of providing health coverage- if they participate in the exchanges being set up by the states. Since 2010, the credit has offered up to 35 percent off health-care costs to all eligible small employers who provide coverage for their workers.”
[Businessweek, 3/22/13]
Claim – ACA “cut $700 billion from our Medicare”
Ruling – PolitiFact gave “Mostly False” Rating to Claim that ACA Cut $716 Billion from Medicare.
In 2012, Rep. Paul Ryan stated that President Obama “funneled” $716 billion out of Medicare “at the expense of the elderly.” PolitiFact: “In fact, the law limits payments to health care providers and insurers to try to reduce the rapid growth of future Medicare spending… Those savings, spread out over the next 10 years, are then used to offset costs created by the law (especially coverage for the uninsured) so that the overall law doesn’t add to the deficit. Ryan’s statement is exaggerated and we rate it Mostly False.”
[PolitiFact.com, 8/29/12]
Ose took $5,000 from Paul Ryan’s PAC.
In 2014, Ose took $5,000 from Prosperity Action, the political action committee of Congressman Paul Ryan.
[FEC.gov, 6/30/14]
House Republican Budget, Authored by Rep. Ryan, would Increase Medicare Premiums for Seniors by 50 Percent.
“While Rep. Ryan uses a different formula than in past budgets to set the value of the voucher, it would still make traditional Medicare increasingly unaffordable for senior citizens. Higher out-of-pocket premiums for traditional Medicare would force seniors into private plans, where they may not have access to the doctors they want to see. The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, previously found that under a premium support plan, premiums would increase by 50 percent for traditional Medicare.”
[Center for American Progress, 4/01/14]
CQ: “Republican Budget Would Maintain ACA’s $716 Billion in Medicare Savings.”
“Although the proposal calls for repealing most of the health care law, it would maintain the law’s $716 billion in Medicare savings over 10 years. The budget says that any potential Medicare savings in current law would go to ‘shoring up’ the program.”
[CQ, 4/01/14]
Claim – “Millions were told their plans were cancelled”
Ruling – FactCheck.org: Claim that Millions Lost Health Insurance “Misleading.”
“Critics of the law now say millions lost their health insurance. But that’s misleading. Those individual market plans were discontinued, but policyholders weren’t denied coverage. And the question is, how many millions of insured Americans had plans canceled, and how does that compare with the millions of uninsured Americans who gained coverage under the law. There is evidence that far more have gained coverage than had their policies canceled.”
[FactCheck.org, 4/11/14]
Many With Cancelled Policies Were Automatically Enrolled in New Plans, Have Had Old Plans Approved at Administrations Request, or Have Obtained New Coverage.
“That’s because, they said, many of the people who originally received cancellation letters have been automatically enrolled in new plans by their insurers; state regulators have approved their current plans on President Obama’s request; insurers have presented different options to keep their customers and people with insurance have been more likely to shop for new policies to avoid gaps in their coverage.”
[USA Today, 12/19/13]
Administration Allowed Hardship Exemption for Those with Policy Cancellations.
“On Thursday, the Obama administration offered another olive branch to people who received policy cancellations – a hardship exemption that allows them to enroll in catastrophic coverage if marketplace plans in their area are more expensive than their old cancelled policies.”
[McClatchy, 12/20/13]
Claim – ACA “could cause women to lose their doctors”
Ruling – PolitiFact: Claim that Americans would Lose Access to Doctors was “Mostly False.”
PolitiFact called Senator Marco Rubio’s claim that the Affordable Care Act would cause Americans to lose access to their long-time doctors “mostly false.” “Rubio ignores the fact that without Obamacare, patients can lose access to their doctor when their employer switches plans or they switch (or lose) jobs. Some patients who buy health insurance through the exchange could lose access to their current doctor, but it’s difficult to predict how many. We rate this claim Mostly False.”
[PolitiFact, 8/05/13]
Repeal Could Deny Coverage for Preventive Care to 47 Million Women.
“Beginning today, up to 47 million women may be eligible to get free access to preventive health care services as that provision of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act goes into effect […] Already covered under the law are other free preventive services for women recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of doctors that advise the government on treatment guidelines. These include mammograms every 1-2 years for women over 40, cervical cancer screenings and prenatal care.”
[CBS News, 8/01/12]
HHS: Preventive Care Covers Services Like Immunizations, Cancer Screenings, and Mammograms.
HHS reported that preventive care for children included services like “regular pediatrician visits, vision and hearing screening, developmental assessments, immunizations, and screening and counseling to address obesity and help children maintain a healthy weight” and for adults, services like “recommended immunizations such as flu shots for all adults and meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccinations for high-risk adults; cancer screening including colonoscopy for adults 50 to 64; healthy diet counseling and obesity screening; cholesterol and blood pressure screening; screening for HIV; depression screening; and tobacco-use counseling.” The HHS reported that for women, preventive coverage would also include “cancer screening such as pap smears for those ages 21 to 64, mammograms for those ages 50 to 64, and colonoscopy for those ages 50 to 64… well-woman visits, screening for gestational diabetes, domestic violence screening and counseling.”
[HHS.gov, March 2013]
Repeal Could Lose Coverage for Millions of Young Adults Now Covered on Parents’ Plans.
“More than 3.1 million young Americans now have health insurance, thanks in part to a provision in the health care reform law that allows parents to add dependents up to age 26 to their insurance plans. That number is up from last June, when 2.5 million young adults ages 19 through 25 who would otherwise have been uninsured gained health care coverage, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.”
[CNN, 6/19/12]
Claim – ACA “could cause women to… pay higher deductibles and co-pays”
Ruling – Repeal Could Allow Insurance Companies to Charge More Based on Gender.
“First, the Affordable Care Act eliminates the discrimination that women have faced when buying insurance. For years, insurance companies may have charged women up to ten times more for their insurance than they charged men. Women often were denied coverage because of a ‘pre-existing’ condition. […] Under Obamacare, insurance companies can no longer use gender as a factor when setting premiums.”
[Washington Post, 9/30/13]
FactCheck.org: ACA Requires Insurers to Cover Mammography with No Cost-Sharing.
“[The Affordable Care Act] requires insurers to cover mammography, with no cost-sharing, every one to two years for women starting at age 40. Medicare fully pays for mammograms once every 12 months with no upper age limit…”
[FactCheck.org, 10/18/13]
HHS: 56 Percent of Uninsured Qualify for Health Insurance Costing $100 a Month or Less.
“Under the Affordable Care Act, advanced premium tax credits will be available to help individuals and families afford insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and states will be able to expand Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults […] Nationwide, 23.2 million or 56% of the 41.3 million eligible uninsured may qualify for Medicaid, CHIP, or tax credits to purchase coverage for $100 or less.”
[HHS.gov, September 2013]
Repeal Could Lose Financial Help for Getting Coverage for Almost 11 Million Americans.
“About 15 million people currently purchase health insurance on their own, using the individual market. And about 70 percent of them — about 10.8 million people — will qualify for the financial help buying coverage under the health-care law, according to a new study out Thursday from Families USA. Their analysis suggests that many Americans receiving cancellation notices would receive assistance through the health overhaul, either by qualifying for subsidies to purchase a private plan or through Medicaid, the public program that serves low-income Americans.”
[Washington Post, 11/21/13]
Repeal Would Raise Health Insurance Costs by 6 Percent for Small Businesses.
“The Rand report found that, with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, workers at firms employing fewer than 100 workers are expected pay almost 6 percent less in premiums in 2016 than without the health care reform law. Nationally, the report said, average premiums for equal plans would cost $5,837 with Obamacare in effect and $6,192 without it – a $355 savings under the Affordable Care Act. Premiums at large companies weren’t examined in the report.”
[USA Today, 8/29/13]
Republican Budget Would Repeal the Affordable Care Act, Reopening the Prescription Drug Doughnut Hole and Costing Seniors $1,200.
In 2014 The Hill reported: “Rep. Paul Ryan’s final House budget includes a full repeal of ObamaCare.” In 2013 The Hill reported: “7.3 million people who reached the ‘doughnut hole’ in their Medicare prescription drug coverage have saved $8.9 billion on their prescription drugs since the law was enacted in 2010. That’s an average savings of $1,209 per person.”