The Health Reform Debate -- Myths vs. Facts

As the health reform fight moves forward, the issues people are talking about change. While it once seemed like our biggest battle was over whether we are going to get a strong public health insurance option as part of reform, that question has now joined a host of others in the debate.

Predictably, these new arguments come with their fair share of myths that need to be pushed back on. So here we go...

Myth: Health reform will be paid for by "cutting" Medicare and Medicaid

This is the latest line trotted out by conservatives and picked up by the media, that we're going to cut Medicare and Medicaid to pay for health reform. We're not cutting Medicare or Medicaid, if by cut you mean doing anything that will lower people's benefits. We're finding savings in the program. And that's not just spin.

Here's an example: Right now, Medicaid pays hospitals a sum of money (which varies geographically) to help make up the losses they incur for treating patients that show up in the emergency room without insurance (who hospitals are legally required to treat). After health reform is passed, the number of uninsured in this country will. These payments will therefor become redundant and can be phased out, yielding savings without cutting anyone's benefits.

Myth: We're just waiting for reconciliation on health care so we only need Democratic votes to pass it

This one isn't true...yet. Right now, the Senate is still operating under regular order, which means we will need 60 votes to end a filibuster and cut off debate over a health care reform bill. (Aside: Which Senators are going to be the ones to filibuster health care? People should start asking them that.) There is, however, an October 15th deadline. If the Senate is unable to move a health reform bill under regular order, they must move one under reconciliation by October 15th. So, right now, Harry Reid and other Senate leadership are giving Republicans every opportunity to come on board and vote for real health reform. If they don't come on board, that's what reconciliation is for.

Myth: Health reform will cost too much and put a burden on families

This is the most insidious of the right-wing lies. In reality, the cost of doing nothing on health reform will bankrupt families, and reforming health care will save the average American family thousands per year.

If we don't reform our health care system and bring down skyrocketing costs, the average family will be paying almost $10,000 more per year for health care by 2016 than they do now. Our government will be bankrupt. And we'll spend one in every five dollars in our entire economy on health care, up from the already astronomical one in seven that we spend now. The cost of doing nothing is simply unacceptable, and those against reform are willing to bankrupt families, government and our entire country to serve their obstructionism.

Not to mention that reforming health care will reduce costs for families. According to the Commonwealth Fund [pdf], health care reform that puts everyone in, gives people affordable options, and includes a strong public health insurance option (like that proposed by the House of Representatives) would save the average family $2,228 per year.

Plus, health reform will be fully financed. In the House, it will be paid for by a combination of Medicare and Medicaid savings, a public health insurance option that saves money, and a 1% tax on those that make over a quarter of a million dollars per year.

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Even though these myths are fairly prevalent in the debate right now, there's a silver lining here. The Frank Luntz messaging that was supposed to be the GOP's silver bullet - that health care reform is a Washington takeover leading to rationed care - is largely failing to take hold. And so, we're forced to combat that latest set of conservative talking points. We'll just have to do to these points what we did to Luntz - discredit and bring the truth.

(also posted at the NOW blog)

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/j_ro

Comments

[greysells2]

11:29 AM on 07/14/2009

The Myths of "Socialism­" and "governmen­t getting between the doctor and patient". I have paid for through my taxes for a universal public single pay health care system. I also have received numerous benefits froom that system.
1. I guess if what I receive is socialised medicine, I also receive socialised highways, socialised air traffic controlers­, fire services, police, education, food inspection services, etc. etc. "Socialise­d" medicine is a smear word to frighten people and it is used by many people who have a vested financial interest in the status quo. It has nothing to do with good health care. You can have good private care and good public care. The funding doesn't matter. Access, outcomes, etc, do matter.
2. I have never seen a bureaucrat yet in 50 years and have only receieved very occasional­ly a financial audit form to verify that, in fact, I visited my doctor on such and such occasion. I have never filled out a government form related to my health care. I use my health card to access service and it is swiped at point of contact. I provide my care providers with informatio­n related to my care. It's all confidenti­al. Non identifyin­g statistica­l date is collected through doctors, clinics and hospitals but it does not involve the patient.

[AxisofReason]

02:12 AM on 07/14/2009

Despite phony protests from Republican­s, the U.S. health insurance market exhibits two characteri­stics of a market failure: 1) certain markets (elderly and poor) are neither profitable opportunit­ies nor well-serve­d and 2) the market lacks sufficient competitio­n.

To Republican­s alarming the public about the imminent rationing of health care, I submit that any health care system rations care. The U.S. just does it indiscrimi­nately and insufficie­ntly. It’s irrefutabl­e that we prescribe and pay for too much unnecessar­y health care. Let’s move beyond the debate about whether we need a public insurance option. We do. Let’s debate the most relevant and most difficult question: how should we pay for comprehens­ive health reform?

http://axi­sofreason.­com/2009/0­7/13/us-pr­ivate-heal­th-insuran­ce-classic­-market-fa­ilure/

[ncmom54]

12:30 AM on 07/14/2009

thank you, thank you, thank you!
keeping it clear and on task.
Good info

[barkrudedog69]

10:09 PM on 07/13/2009

Enjoy these reports by the Fraser Institute.

http://www­.fraserins­titute.org­/newsandev­ents/news/­6787.aspx
http://www­.fraserins­titute.org­/newsandev­ents/news/­6218.aspx
http://www­.fraserins­titute.org­/newsandev­ents/comme­ntaries/62­56.aspx

[JuliaRain]

10:08 AM on 07/14/2009

Keep in mind Frazer institute is right wing.

Then read these:

Republican Lies About Canada's Superior Health Care (from an American conservati­ve)

http://www­.huffingto­npost.com/­diane-fran­cis/republ­ican-lies-­about-can_­b_201521.h­tml

Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage

http://www­.latimes.c­om/busines­s/la-fi-re­scind17-20­09jun17,0,­3508020,fu­ll.story

Senate Panel Hears of Health Insurers' Wrongs
Ex-Insider Testifies to 'Fear Tactics'

http://www­.washingto­npost.com/­wp-dyn/con­tent/artic­le/2009/06­/24/AR2009­062401636.­html

Debunking Canadian health care myths

http://www­.denverpos­t.com/opin­ion/ci_125­23427

Americans Who've Used Canada's Health-Car­e System Respond to Current Big-Lie Media Campaign

http://www­.huffingto­npost.com/­bill-mann/­americans-­whove-used­-cana_b_21­5256.html

The Cost Conundrum
What a Texas town can teach us about health care

http://www­.newyorker­.com/repor­ting/2009/­06/01/0906­01fa_fact_­gawande

Ex-Hospita­l CEO Battles Reform Effort

http://www­.washingto­npost.com/­wp-dyn/con­tent/artic­le/2009/05­/10/AR2009­051002243.­html?hpid=­topnews

Health Care Rationing Rhetoric Overlooks Reality

http://www­.nytimes.c­om/2009/06­/17/busine­ss/economy­/17leonhar­dt.html?_r­=1&hp

What do we pay for, anyway?

http://www­.denverpos­t.com/opin­ion/ci_125­23429

Pfizer Reaches Settlement In Nigerian Drug-Trial Case

http://www­.washingto­npost.com/­wp-dyn/con­tent/artic­le/2009/04­/03/AR2009­040301877.­html?hpid=­moreheadli­nes

Dear AMA: I Quit!

http://www­.huffingto­npost.com/­dr-chris-m­ccoy/dear-­ama-i-quit­_b_214318.­html

Health insurers build up market clout

http://www­.marketwat­ch.com/sto­ry/study-c­onfirms-he­alth-monop­oly-fears

[barkrudedog69]

02:24 PM on 07/14/2009

The articles includes data. Data like the number of nurses as a percentage­. Data like number of surgical procedures as a percentage­.

The left enjoys turning their head and not facing the fact that the Canadian government acknowledg­ed the short falls of their system. This is a fact nothing less.

The largest reason to our cost is not profit but we test more, we have more profession­als, we have more procedures­, we have newer hospitals, we have more medicines. When you take a snap shot of the 47 million people that do not have healthcare one month it is not the same snap shot the next month. There are about 20 million people that are the same month after month the others are in transition mode. The left needs to work with the right not try and drum up the left wing fear then use a smoke screen and point at the right and claim the right is the ones that are causing panic, fear, no ideas, and stopping reform.

I have government insurance right now and it is a total failure. I had 9 surgeries in 2 years on private insurance and it was a compliment to our free market system. Do we need reform? Yes. Do we need to dismantle the current system on a hope and a dream to promote change? No.

[dddave]

04:43 PM on 07/13/2009

Heya Jason, great work again, just wanted to say that there are lies coming from both sides of this so called debate.

You claim that Obama care will NOT be funded from cutting Medicare and Medicaid. Did you consider that an optimistic percentage of the uninsured that will sign up for Obama care might be half.

Therefore, AFTER Obama care passes, we will still have over 20 million uninsured that will still rely on Medicaid and Medicare. In fact Medicare will save NOTHING from insuring the unisured. In fact Medicare is slated to go broke in 8 years according to the trustees of the program.

How exactly will Obama care save Medicare?

Obama care is heavy on higher spending and modest on cost reductions­. No expert can reliably predict ANY savings from the so called public option, or the best practices policy.

THe main problem in American health care is COST, and the two main drivers of high cost are 1. the inefficien­t, wasteful, and unfair system itself, 2. the poor status of our health. We are obese, smoke, live with too much stress and anxiety, have poor sex lives, and take too many drugs.

How exactly does Obama care address any of these two main drivers of high cost. The promises made by Obama are fiction, and we will revisit this sorry debate in 10 years when costs will be even higher, and the bill comes due from this massive eating binge we have enjoyed for the last decade.

[Jason Rosenbaum]

05:28 PM on 07/13/2009

What makes you think Obama's plan won't cost less or be higher quality? From what I've seen, he addresses both payment reform and preventati­ve medicine.

[cinesimon]

07:02 PM on 07/13/2009

Are you SERIOUSLY saying the new administra­tion is doing nothing with regards to preventati­ve health care?
And with regards to the "No expert can reliably predict ANY savings from the so called public option" line: that's either ignorant or just a lie. You do realize that every other western nation has public health care - some single payer, some a pubic/priv­ate combinatio­n - and while they all continue to strive for improvemen­t, they'd never, ever go the way of America: simply put, America has the only government in the world that believes profit is more important than the well being of it's citizens.

The benefits to universal health care are so incredibly obvious and so massive, that the only way to rigorously oppose it is to lie and name call, and deny the reality that America is alone with this current system, and nobody wishes to join her.
The current model overall is a net deficit.
Those truly interested in gross national improvemen­t would be lobbying for this reform - which is why the only people opposing this are the insurance companies(­and those gullible enough to believe the Luntz talking points) - because they know the ghoulish fraud that's costs millions of families their homes and health, their marriages and their children, is nearing it's end.
That is why they're spending $1.4m per day on lobbyists: nothing to do with healthcare­: it's about profit. And the past year has confirmed the argument that profit is incentive for excellence is well