AP FACT CHECK: Both sides loose with facts in health debate
The
Yet, CBO's neutrality has been valued by both parties — though not always at the same time. It depends whose ox is being gored.
A look at statements in the debate and how they compare with the CBO's estimates and the underlying facts:
TRUMP: "We're going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can't pay for it, you don't get it. That's not going to happen with us." — To The
CBO: It estimates the bill would leave 14 million fewer people insured in the first year, 24 million fewer by 2026.
In the first year, the biggest reason more people are uninsured would be repeal of penalties
In following years the main reason for a drop in the number of insured would be that the Republican bill scales back
THE FACTS: He's wrong about deductibles under Obama's law.
Out-of-pocket expenses for consumers are limited. Deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance together can't exceed
In addition, more than half of customers in these plans get subsidies to help with their out-of-pocket costs.
SEN.
REP.
THE FACTS:
"The
Again in 2014, Pelosi did not consider CBO's numbers "elegant," or correct, when they forecast job losses from a Democratic effort to raise the minimum wage. She accused the CBO of making arguments that "contradict the consensus among hundreds of America's top economists" and said it "ignored new perspectives in the wide array of analysis on the minimum wage."
TRUMP: People covered under the law "can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better... lower numbers, much lower deductibles."
CBO: It says cost-sharing payments in the individual market, including deductibles, "would tend to be higher than those anticipated under current law." Cost-sharing subsidies would be repealed in 2020, "significantly increasing out-of-pocket costs for nongroup (private) insurance for many lower-income enrollees."
TRUMP, at a
CBO: Not in the view of the budget experts. They described the market for individual policies under Obama's health care law as "stable." They said it is likely to remain stable under the proposed
THE FACTS:
Other evidence points to tangible benefits from Obama's coverage expansion. For example, government researchers have found fewer Americans struggling to pay medical bills. A 2015 report found that problems with medical bills had declined for the fourth year in a row. Most of the improvement was among low-income people and those with government coverage, and it coincided with the ACA's big coverage expansion.
CBO: There are losers as well as winners, the analysts found. Generally, older people are bound to face higher costs because the legislation would let insurance companies charge them up to five times more for premiums than they charge young people. They can only be charged three times more now. The bottom line, the analysts say, would be "substantially reducing premiums for young adults and substantially raising premiums for older people."
MULVANEY: "Actually I don't think the costs will go up at all." —
CBO: It estimates that some costs indeed will go up, at least for a few years. The analysts say average premiums in the private insurance market would rise in 2018 and 2019 by 15 percent to 20 percent, compared with current law, then start to come down. By 2026, average premiums could be 10 percent lower, compared with the existing law. One reason: insurers could eliminate a current requirement to offer plans that cover a set percentage of the cost of certain benefits.
Find all AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
This story has been corrected to reflect that Pelosi and Schumer spoke Monday.
EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
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