ObamaCare- One Man’s Facts Are Another Man’s Myths

Debunking GOP Health Care Myths

Title of New York Times editorial,  April 19, 2016

I enjoy reading New York Times editorials.   The editorials are one of the few things in modern day politics that are absolutely predictable. 

Today’s editorial carries the banner of  “Facts” next to the title of the editorial.

The “Facts,”  says the Times, are these.

The GOP’s claims, as presented by Trump and Cruz, are misleading.

The  GOP claims are: 

·         Millions of people have lost their insurance (Wrong: they have simply had to switch to better plans).

·         Millions of people have lost their jobs (Wrong: they have simply had to adjust to new kinds of jobs). 

·         Millions of people have had to endure elevated health care costs because of federal regulations (Wrong: the problem is difficulty finding new networks of providers).

These “facts” rest on the propositions that ObamaCare’s good intentions of covering the uninsured are worth any price and any burden, that universal coverage is the only moral right thing to do, even if to date the ACA covers only 6% of the population and shifts the economic burden to the rest of  330 million of us, the middle class and to Medicare, for which ObamaCare has vowed to cut $575 billion over 10 years.

Speaking of millions of people and of ”facts” and “myths”,  the Times does not mention that the largest contributor to our $19 trillion national debt, which has doubled under Obama and will exceed $20 trillion when he leaves office,  are growing entitlement programs that now amounts to over $10,000 for every American. 

Nor does the Times mention the “facts” are that 30 million Americans remain uninsured; that  health premiums, deductibles,  and out-of-pocket costs are up by double digits over the last 7 years;   that sky-rocketing deductibles are equivalent to having no insurance at all for routine care;  that the ACA has resulted in widespread physician shortages because of onerous regulations;  or that health care insurance “coverage” is not the same as health care access, i.e., finding a doctor who accepts Medicare, Medicaid, or ObamaCare 3^rd party insurance plans.