THE TRUTH: MANY REPUBLICANS HAVE CONTINUALLY MADE FALSE CLAIMS IN THEIR ATTACKS ON HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM.

REPORTED July 23, 2009


Republicans have often used misleading facts and blatantly untrue talking points when discussing health insurance reform, often citing studies by groups that are wholly owned by the insurance industry. [1]

Republicans claim that health insurance reform would explode the deficit, when in fact the President has repeatedly said that reform must be deficit-neutral. [2] They have also warned that reform will lead to rationing, a claim that “fall[s] apart on close scrutiny.” [4]

Numerous Republicans, including Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, have falsely described the Democratic plan for health insurance reform as “a government-controlled health care plan” that will deprive over 120 million Americans of their current health care coverage – a claim that independent fact-check organization PolitiFact rated “False.” [4]

These claims, which have been echoed by Republicans across the country, are wholly untrue and have been repeatedly debunked by numerous independent sources. [5]

---

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:

[1] “Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers. More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data.” [Washington Post, 7/22/09]

[2] Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in testimony prepared for delivery to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said, “The president is open to good ideas about how we finance health reform. But we are not open to deficit spending. Health reform will be paid for and it will be deficit neutral over ten years.” [Politico, 6/24/09]

[3] “[Republican] arguments fall apart on close scrutiny. The government isn’t mandating that doctors adopt the results of CER [comparative effectiveness research] and it is not rationing care. Each patient has his or her unique needs and the ultimate decision for how to proceed should be left to the doctor and the patient. Currently, approximately one-third of all treatments have never been proven to produce better outcomes; CER would provide doctors with unbiased information about the most effective treatments, help doctors and patients make better informed decisions, and improve the quality of care. Moreover, far from establishing one-size-fits all medicine or dictating treatments, properly conducted CER will actually promote faster adoption of personalized care.” [ThinkProgress.org, 6/19/09]

[4] “120 million ‘deprived’ of health care is not correct. Pence appears to be picking the worst number he can choose. And he doesn't mention the fact that under the scenario laid out by the Lewin Group, people would still have health care coverage and their premiums reduced by 30 to 40 percent. He says the government would ‘deprive’ people of health insurance, when actually the scenario is that they would choose a different option...Finally, we have to include a caveat about the Lewin Group. The group says it operates with editorial independence, but it is a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which also offers private health insurance. Given all this background and explanation, we rated Pence's statement that the government would ‘deprive’ 120 million people of their ‘current health care coverage’ False.” [PolitiFact, 5/19/09]

[5] “Republicans in Washington seem to be shifting into overdrive to keep a health system overhaul from passing Congress before the August recess. Yesterday, July 22, brought two more deceptive assaults (that we know of) on the pending bills, one from Minority Whip Eric Cantor and the other from the top GOP member of the House Immigration Subcommittee, Steve King of Iowa.” [FactCheck.org, 7/23/09]