It’s that time of year again when we look back — perhaps not so fondly — on the most noteworthy nonsense from the past 12 months.
Whoppers of 2013
Stories by Lori Robertson
Managing Editor, FactCheck.org
DCCC Exaggerates Impact of ACA Repeal
Democrats are telling the constituents of a Pennsylvania Republican that repealing the Affordable Care Act “would take health care away from 657,000 children in Pennsylvania with preexisting conditions.” No, it wouldn’t.
The Rest of the Story on Arizona Anecdote
Conservative groups are highlighting the case of an Arizona man with leukemia whose insurance plan was canceled because it didn’t comply with the Affordable Care Act.
Fighting Premium Spin with More Spin
In a mailer to Virginia voters, the conservative Heritage Action calls out President Obama for breaking his promise to save families up to $2,500 in premiums per year under his health care overhaul.
ACA Doesn’t Restrict Mammograms
Q: Does the Affordable Care Act restrict my ability to get a mammogram?
A: No. In fact, the law 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.
Spinning Premium Rates
Both sides in the great Obamacare debate are distorting the facts about premium rates on the soon-to-open health exchanges to make their case for or against the law.
Obamacare Myths
We’ve been batting down bogus claims about the Affordable Care Act for years, since 2009, when legislation was still in the debate stage. But they’ve been increasing in intensity in recent months as we approach Oct. 1, the date the insurance exchanges will be open for business.
No ‘Special Subsidy’ for Congress
Rep. Robert Pittenger is misleading his constituents by saying that he will decline the health insurance offered to members of Congress next year because it includes a “special subsidy” from the president that “exempted” Congress from the Affordable Care Act.
The Messy Facts in Virginia
The Virginia governor’s race is breaking our general expectations as fact-checkers: There’s strident attack galore, but much of it is accurate. We normally find the harsher the attack, the more likely it’s false. So much for that.
Obama Overpromises on Premiums
President Obama claimed that all of the currently uninsured would be able to get coverage on the exchanges “at a significantly cheaper rate than what they can get right now on the individual market” even without federal tax credits.