Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy is catching flak for a letter he wrote a constituent about his stand on the current state of health insurance via the Affordable Care Act. Cassidy, a Republican and a physician, has been a staunch critic of Obamacare, and his answer to the voter’s question pulled no punches.
“Obamacare does not lower costs or improve quality, but rather it raises taxes and allows a presidentially handpicked ‘Health Choices Commissioner’ to determine what coverage and treatments are available to you,” Cassidy wrote.
But according to ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, there was just one problem with the senator’s assertion: it was pure baloney and snake oil.
It seems the Affordable Care Act has no “Health Choices Commissioner” nor did the job Cassidy described, which was part of a bill that failed to pass back in 2009, have the powers Cassidy says it did in the first place.
Both Parties Seem Unclear of the Issues Involved
Members of Congress are finding that their constituents are more than a touch worried about where healthcare reform is headed these days.
The report from ProPublica, with assistance from Kaiser Health News, Stat and Vox, has determined that many of the form letters being sent out in reams from legislators feeling the heat over the pending repeal of ‘Obamacare’ are at best “misleading,’ and that indeed a good share of the more than 200 letters reviewed by the organizations were chock full of incorrect statistics, made-up health care terminology and statements that simply don’t stand up scrutiny.
While it’s clear to anyone who follows politics, and healthcare reform news in particular, that Republicans aren’t thrilled with the way the ACA has played out since it became the law of the land, it seems legislators – from both parties – are often at a loss to pass on accurate statistics and provide their constituents any meaningful context regarding the nuts-and-bolts of healthcare reform proposals.
Charles Ornstein, the lead author of the story, is a senior reporter for ProPublica who covers health care and the pharmaceutical industry. According to Ornstein, the idea for the fact-checking work sprung from his reading of an email from a senator to the voters in his state.
“We decided to take a closer look after finding misleading statements in an email Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., sent to his constituents,” Ornstein writes. “We solicited letters from the public and found a wealth of misinformation, from statements that were simply misleading to whoppers. More Republicans fudged than Democrats, though both had their moments.”
The reporters ultimately reviewed emails and letters sent by 51 senators and 134 members of the House which were packed with errors and omissions. The results were more than a touch disconcerting, and you can read examples of those emails and letters here…
Regardless of your take on Fake News, the Mainstream Media or our current or former president, the takeaway here is that health insurance reform is sure to impact you and your family in the coming months and years.
You can visit us for more news and information on healthcare reform as the story develops.
