Rosendale Again Caught On His Record of Not Protecting Montanans With Pre-Existing Conditions, This Time Rosendale’s Ad Found Lying About His Record
This time Rosendale was caught trying to rewrite his health care record, with his latest ad claiming that Rosendale “fights for everyone with pre-existing conditions.”
Politifact have rated Rosendale’s ad that attempts to rewrite his record on protecting Montanans with pre-existing conditions as – “Mostly False.”
As early as this March, when the pandemic began to take hold across the country, Matt Rosendale as Insurance Commissioner continued to promote junk plans that could reject Montanans who have pre-existing health conditions including COVID-19.
Statement from DCCC Spokesperson Andy Orellana:
“Matt Rosendale’s can’t run from his record and it is clear to Montana’s families that Rosendale supports junk insurance plans that don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions and can discriminate against Montanans with preexisting conditions. As Montana’s Insurance Commissioner, Maryland Matt Rosendale should know that the harmful policies he supports do opposite of what he promises and lies about in his campaign.”
Read more about Rosendale’s attempt to rewrite his record on pre-existing conditions below or here.
Politifact: Fighting for patient protections while attacking ACA — hard to have it both ways
By Alex Sakariassen // October 6, 2020
It’s no surprise, then, that protections for people who have chronic health problems like diabetes and cancer have become a focal point for candidates nationwide — among them, Matt Rosendale, the Republican contender for Montana’s only U.S. House seat.
On Sept. 22, Rosendale’s campaign hit airwaves and online streaming services with an ad featuring a Whitefish resident named Sandee, whose son was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. Sandee told the story of how Rosendale came to her family’s aid, concluding that “Matt fights for everyone with a preexisting condition.”
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We decided to investigate.
Rosendale is up against Democrat Kathleen Williams for the congressional seat now occupied by Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte, who has entered the state’s gubernatorial race. The open seat has been controlled by the GOP for the past 12 terms, but this year’s race is expected to be close. Williams, who also ran for the seat in 2018, has made health care her top campaign issue.
We contacted the Rosendale campaign to find out the basis for his ad’s claim. Campaign spokesperson Shelby DeMars listed a range of health policies backed by the candidate that would help people with preexisting conditions directly or indirectly by holding down health care costs. She specifically pointed to Rosendale’s work on the state’s reinsurance program as Montana’s state auditor and insurance commissioner, a post he was elected to in 2016.
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Examining reinsurance
In a nutshell, Montana’s reinsurance program is designed to help insurers cover costly medical claims with a mix of federal pass-through dollars and funding generated by a premium tax on all major medical policies in the state.
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But there’s a rub.
The reinsurance program that Rosendale touts wouldn’t exist without a state innovation waiver created by the ACA, which Rosendale says he’ll work to repeal. That effort will doubtless continue to fuel pitched battles in Congress, and how the U.S. Supreme Court may rule on a pending ACA challenge remains a point of speculation. One thing is clear, though: If the entire ACA is thrown out, the reinsurance program goes with it, along with Montana’s Medicaid expansion and the ban on insurers from excluding people with health problems from affordable coverage.
When asked about the resulting elimination of the reinsurance program, DeMars reiterated that Rosendale’s work as auditor has created a system that will ensure protections for preexisting conditions “regardless of what happens to the ACA.” She did not elaborate or explain what protections would remain if the ACA were repealed.
The short-term plan component
In defending his stance on preexisting conditions, Rosendale continues to be haunted by another health care policy specter from his political past. During his unsuccessful challenge against Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in 2018, Rosendale faced criticism for promoting short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Unlike plans offered on the individual marketplace, these short-term plans are exempt from the ACA’s ban on excluding people with preexisting conditions.
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As state auditor, Rosendale included those plans in his March 2020 roundup of year-round options for immediate coverage. They often exclude coverage for a variety of higher-cost benefits. In Montana, for example, a review by KFF found that of four short-term plans available in Billings in 2018, none offered coverage for maternity care, mental health, substance abuse or prescription drug services.
Historically, short-term plans were designed to help individuals fill gaps in health coverage. According to Dania Palanker, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms…Short-term plans are, Palanker said, “actively hurting people with preexisting conditions.”
“Promoting short-term plans and stumping on supporting protections for preexisting conditions are mutually exclusive,” she continued.
Asked whether the cost-lowering effect of a reinsurance program would be enough to offset the effects of short-term plans, Palanker said the only way such an offset would be enough is if the program encompassed short-term plans. She hasn’t seen that happen anywhere.
Our ruling
A campaign ad says that Rosendale “fights for everyone with a preexisting condition.” While it is true that health insurance premiums have dropped during Rosendale’s tenure as state auditor, the choice to establish Montana’s reinsurance program ultimately fell to decision-makers in the state’s legislature and the governor’s office.
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In the long-term, however, Rosendale’s positions begin to run counter to the claim. His support for short-term, limited-duration plans poses a considerable threat to keeping health insurance affordable for all, and absent a solid plan from Congress to ensure that state reinsurance programs survive, his stated goal of repealing the ACA would actually serve to unravel the very protection he’s built his case on.
We rate this statement as Mostly False.
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