Subscribe to this BlogLet's call in the health care mythbusters
It used to be that the mythbusters at Snopes.com were the go-to-guys for refutations of weird rumors. These days, though, those diligent debunkers can barely keep up. It seems like only yesterday that tongues were wagging about Obama's alleged non-citizenship — a false rumor the site addressed earlier this month with a typically withering takedown of the forged birth certificate that purportedly proves Barack Obama was born in Kenya.
Now the air is thick with talk of "death panels" hidden in the health care reform bills — a monumentally absurd notion endorsed by assorted Republican politicians, ex-politicians and talk show hosts, as well as by more than a few angry citizens at town hall hall meetings. (Not only are the claims untrue, but the wholly innocent, even laudable provision at the root of the myths that would have reimbursed doctors for counseling patients who wanted advice on living wills and other end-of-life issues has now been stricken from the Senate bill.) Snopes, which took on similar claims back in July, hasn't yet gotten to the latest round of rumors. So others have had to jump in and do a little mythbusting themselves.
Like, for example, AARP. Now, if there were anything to all this talk of "death panels," you'd think the AARP would be raising holy hell. After all, the nonprofit devoted to people age 50 and over has what you might call a vested interest in keeping America's elderly alive and well. But there isn't any substance to these "death panels," so the group has instead taken aim at the rumors. "Much of the debate is being driven by special interests that are deliberately kicking up clouds of dust to obscure the facts," the group notes on a page set up to combat the "misinformation and fear-mongering" that now clouds the debate. AARP's site is eminently useful for anyone who wants to make sense of what's really at stake in the health care reform battle, offering the group's own detailed refutations of the myths and lies, as well as links to mainstream press coverage of the scare tactics adopted by some opponents of reform.
For an even more thorough factchecking of what is and isn't true about health care reform, you can turn to Polifact.com, an online project of the St. Petersburg Times. For a quick overview of some of the disinformation that's being spread around, check out the site's health care Truth-O-Meter page. (Or simply look at the the health care "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.") If you get tired of reading about what isn't true, and want nothing but the truth, Polifact.com's "simple explanation" of the health care bills now under consideration is the clearest I've seen anywhere
Polifact.com isn't partisan. In addition to refuting some of Sarah Palin's wild Facebook assertions about "death panels," they've also factchecked various pronouncements from Obama himself on health care and found some of them highly questionable — such as his claim at a town hall earlier this week that AARP had endorsed his reform plans. (In fact, the group, while supportive of many elements of reform, has not officially endorsed any of the plans now out there, as a spokesman for the group quickly made clear.)
Oh, and in case you're wondering, that video that got forwarded to you earlier this week of the guy shooting off a waterside and landing in a tiny pool — it's fake, too.
The problem with this discussion is we are all expected to just accept the word of the president and congressmen at face value. Sure the big picture looks great. Everyone gets everything they want at less cost great. We are not supposed to look at the language of the bill and come to some logical conclusions.
Case in point. Page 146 HR3200.
Under this provision, my employer will have to pay at least a specific percentage of my premium as well as that of my family members and do the smae for part-time employees. OK Sounds great. But what is my employer going to do? He owns a small business with less than 250 employees. He pays a good portion of my premium but Much less for family coverage. This bill would dramatically increase his cost for my family premiums. So the best thing to do is to drop the coverage and pay the 8% penalty and throw me into the "exchange". Now that I am on my own I am looking for the cheapest coverage, which will likely be the public option. So over time, many of us end up in the public option. Drip, drip, drip.
Mike in Kansas City – there is no $500 billion in Medicare cuts. Another fear tactic. http://www.FactCheck.org just sent out an alert about it.
David,
I can understand you writing to refute the death panel claim. The comment was extreme. We do know, however, that health care will have to be rationed under this plan. It's so widely known that even people on CNN mention it from time to time. That is the real concern. Who decides what treatments are worth the money? Who decides what's "efficient"?
Putting the health care debate aside, your track record of postings on the Two Cents blog is quite pathetic. The vast majority have inherent liberal bias, and you've posted several times to do nothing other than attack conservatives. Do you have any interest in presenting anything balanced? A point of view other than your own?
If, when you decided to become a "journalist", you wanted nothing more than to be a cheap, hollow mouth piece for the Democratic party, congratulations. You have succeeded.
I wish the “big five” news outlets would mention something about the biggest culprit of sky-high health care costs and what can be done about it.
In the last 40 years or so, just about every one of us has decided to pick up one or more of the following bad habits: over-eating; poor diets (e.g. fried everything, mayo IVs, super-sized sodas every day); little or no exercise; excessive drinking; smoking; and poor hygiene (e.g. more than half of the adult population choose not to wash their hands after going to the bathroom…yep, that’s the fact.) These bad habit drive the cost of health care skyward by increasing the number of doctor visits, the types and amounts of pills we need (e.g. blood pressure, cholesterol, anti-depressants), and the number of open heart surgeries and liver transplants, just to name a few.
Rather than blaming those “evil” health insurance companies and having politicians chase this myth, why not first focus on the real culprit?
I don’t mean to have the politicians spend $100 billion of our tax dollars on a program that tries to make people do something – we can (and should) get off our lazy butts and do it ourselves with no money out of our pockets by simply exercising (no pun intended) some self control and responsibility…get 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week, eat more fruit and veggies, replace sodas with water, real fruit juice, and milk, drink in moderation, quit smoking, wash your hands after every bathroom visit and before every meal; (that last one alone will cut down your annual sinus infections / flu visits to the doctor big time.)
If we all pitch in and take care of ourselves and thereby reduce the demand on the system, I guarantee we can control the price of health care insurance and make it affordable for just about everyone. And for people employed by small businesses, set up co-ops that small businesses can negotiate “as one” with the insurance companies. Others that still (legitimately) can’t afford health care due to income can then be supplemented by the government to buy private insurance through their company…as a last resort.
Bottom line: We don’t need to take a pill for everything, and we sure as heck don’t need the government to take care of stuff we can do ourselves…after all, the stuff we don’t do ourselves ALWAYS costs more…whether we pay the private sector for that cholesterol pill or more taxes to the government.
Pitch in and do your part…and I'll do the same.
@ William Totten
"pay close attn. to page 16"
Please, quote the offending section and let us know what the problem with it is. Also, which bill are you referring to, there are a couple.
Not use AARP is the "BEST" place to get your info…sounds a lot like the administration!!! There is NO "Death Penelty" Why is AARP NOT looking at the proposed $500 Billion in cuts to Medicare?????? Why are they NOT looking into a proposal in the congress to charge seniors a 20% co pay on all lab testing??????? How many seniors have monthly blood work done for medical conditions????
We need a new economic system as a whole. Printing money to solve our problems is not a long term solution.
Try http://www.22ndcenturyeconomics.com
It just an idea…
I really don't understand why people don't realize that we already have death panels. Insurance companies are in the business to make a profit – the more reasons they can find to deny coverage, the more money they make.
THE WAY I SEE IT, our liberty is on the slippery slope. I've read the ObamaCare bible and I feel that with this "transparent" administration, rules in this bill (as we've seen in all of the other junk this nationbuster has devised)that would seem to be straight forward, leave a very wide interpretation risk. I prefer to pay for my own care, my own plan that's right for me, with my own money. Oh, and I'll discuss my mortallity only with my loved ones and a trusted few.
If this plan is a great thing, our entire government should be on it as well. How about it Obama?
Media should play better role. Instead of focusing on fights at town hall meeting, they should more focus on how people are waiting in lines outside free doctors camps set up by NGO. They should more try to educate people what will happen if health care is not fixed.
I am so tired of both parties lies and mistruths. When the next election comes I will vote out of office everyone I can. Jack
Polifact.com, an online project of the St. Petersburg Times….Anything put out by the ST Pete Times is definately NOT non-partisan. I wouldn't rely on them to line the litter box.
While I think the "death panel" term was a bit extreme, I do feel that years down the road rationing of health care will be needed. When all the baby boomers get leave the workforce and join get in line at the doctor there simply will not be enough people below them able to keep up the supply of tax money needed to support the plan.
Dont think the government will ration a program just look at Social security, the keep raising the retirement year for younger particpants. Why because there are not enough younger people paying in to support the retireing.
The first monthly payment was issued on January 31, 1940 to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont. In 1937, 1938 and 1939 she paid a total of $24.75 into the Social Security System. Her first check was for $22.54. After her second check, Fuller already had received more than she contributed over the three-year period. She lived to be 100 and collected a total of $22,888.92.
"Social Security has been a pyramid scheme from the beginning. Those who paid in first received money from those who paid in second — and so on, generation after generation. This was great so long as the small generation when Social Security began was being supported by larger generations resulting from the baby boom.
But, like all pyramid schemes, the whole thing is in big trouble once the pyramid stops growing. When the baby boomers retire, that will be the moment of truth"
All of you that are beleiving the crap that CNN is saying (or Obama for that matter) Need to READ the policy before making fools of yourselves…pay close attn. to page 16, but read the entire 1100 pages…I did, and it scares the hell out of me. face it NO ONE wants to kill affordable health care….just some want freedom along with it.
This is exactly why Pailin can never be president. Death panels? What other lies would she spin if she was President of the USA?
Another good site is Factcheck.org, which has been ruthlessly nonpartisan for years.Unfortunately, there are many pundits claiming to "know" and "explain" what is in the various bills, or more than willing to twist the interpretation of what's in them, in order to yet again kill affordable healthcare for all. What is needed is to publish the current bills and the next versions in a format that allows mere mortals and average humans to read a simple, clear, and understandable version of the federal-ese cross-referencing that makes up such a bill. You'd think the Obama administration would have anticipated heading off the stupidity and outright lies yet again, given their experience during the election and before inauguration.
Greg,
The liberals are not interested in your incredibly simple, well thought out explanation of real life.
They have no interest in logic or facts.