There has been a lot of focus on the new health care bill over the past few months, and even more within the past few weeks. Fake news is being spread everywhere, so before you believe everything you hear or read, it is important to take a look at the facts.
These are just a few of the main ones that you need to know about — both the false claims and the truth behind them.
“22 Million More Will Be Left Uninsured”
No one is disputing this claim, but if you take a look at it without diving deeper into the data, it looks like the plan will drop all kinds of people from insurance without having any choice in the matter.
This is being spun in all kinds of ways, but if you break down the numbers, you will find that the numbers are not as scare as the Democrats want you to think they are. The reality is that it will not leave 22 million uninsured without consent. In fact, the expectations are that the majority of these people will choose to opt out of insurance offerings in the marketplace. They will be doing this because there will no longer be any penalties.
There are millions of people now who have purchased health insurance in the marketplace because they had to in order to avoid the penalty. Those people will choose not to continue their insurance through the marketplace when the penalties are removed. There will be some that are dropped from insurance, however, but the number is not 22 million. Additionally, it is important to note that the estimation of 22 million is not set to occur until 2026.
“It Would Mean the End of Medicaid”
There are many news outlets that are claiming that the funding would be decreased for Medicaid, and that it could result in the end of the program over time. Obviously, this is scary to many but it is not true either. If you actually look at the data from the Congressional Budget Office, you would see that the spending for Medicaid would increase from $393 billion in 2017 to $464 billion in 2026. This shows an increase in spending by 18% and by $71 billion. This is not a decrease by any means, so it makes you wonder where they are getting their information.
The reason this is being shown as a decrease in funding is because it is a lower amount when compared to the Affordable Care Act. However, it is not really a cut because spending will continue to increase no matter what.
“When I was at the White House in 2001, Federal Medicaid spending was $129 billion. My point is in Washington, spending only goes up,” said former White House press secretary to George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer, to Fox News. “The issue today is how much should Medicaid spending increase—by a lot or by a huge amount? There are NO cuts.”
“It Would Not Lower Costs”
For many people in America, the desire for this bill is to lower the costs for insurance. However, there are reports that it would not lower costs as desired. While it is true that it will take some time to cut health care expenses for all Americans, it is expected that rates will decrease by around 30% for individuals. In fact, the plan addresses in detail the rising costs that have been seen under the Affordable Care Act.
Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, commented on the matter by saying, “Our plan will help address Obamacare’s ballooning costs for consumers by lowering premiums over time and cutting taxes.”
It is expected that the new bill would be able to cut current deficits by $321 billion over the next ten years.
There is no shortage of false news being reported, but that does not mean that you have to take it at face value. As you can see, many of the claims being made are rooted in the correct information, but they are being skewed to fit their agenda.
~ Conservative Zone
