Democrats have stressed that the GOP’s American Health Care Act would increase health insurance premiums, while Republicans have said it would lower them, both citing the Congressional Budget Office. Which is it? A little of both.
Premium Spin
Person: Paul Ryan
Republican Health Care Spin
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and House Speaker Paul Ryan engaged in partisan spin in talking about the Republican health care bill that was passed by the House last week.
Medicaid’s Doctor Participation Rates
It’s a common criticism of the Medicaid program — that the doctor participation rate is lower than the rate for Medicare or private insurance. The implication is that Medicaid patients cannot access care, and it has gotten worse under the ACA. But experts say that’s misleading.
GOP’s Obamacare Obituary: Premature
Republicans repeatedly claim that Obamacare is in a “death spiral,” collapsing of its own weight. This is wishful thinking on their part, with little evidence to support it.
‘Broke’ and Because of ACA?
House Speaker Paul Ryan falsely claimed that “because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke.” The law actually improved Medicare’s financing, and the program isn’t going “broke.”
Midterm Medicare Mudslinging
Democrats, Republicans spend nearly $50 million on TV ads that repeat old, scary Medicare claims.
Immigration Group Twists Ryan’s Words
A group that opposes the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” immigration bill claims that Rep. Paul Ryan said “we have a labor shortage in Wisconsin.”
Republican Overreach on IRS
While there has been plenty to find fault with in the revelation that the IRS targeted some tea party groups seeking tax exempt status, some of the Republican rhetoric has been an overreach.
Charting Ryan’s Debt Exaggeration
Rep. Paul Ryan exaggerates future growth of the federal debt in a chart contained in his newly released budget plan.
The chart relies on Congressional Budget Office projections from last year that do not account for actions taken since then to reduce federal deficits by nearly $2 trillion over 10 years. The chart also projects debt levels out to 2060, although CBO warns that such long-term projections are “highly uncertain.”
Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee,
GOP Budget Revives ‘Obamacare’ Claims
The release of the House GOP budget by Rep. Paul Ryan has sparked a resurgence of false and misleading claims about the Affordable Care Act, which the budget seeks to largely repeal. On the Sunday talk shows, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, each distorted the facts regarding revenues raised in the health care law. And Ryan wrongly said the law would take money away from Medicare and ration benefits for seniors.