Nchc Debunking Myths Final 8-18-09

DEBUNKING HEALTH CARE REFORM MYTHS The initial 10 myths in this report can be found on the Heritage Foundation Web site. We have identified additional myths in this report that have also been receiving considerable attention. MYTH 1: Millions will lose their current insurance. Period. End of story. President Obama wants Americans to believe they can keep their insurance if they like, but research from the government, private research firms and think tanks shows this is not the case. Proposed economic incentives, plus a government-run health plan like the one proposed in the House bill, would cause 88.1 million people to see their current employer-sponsored health plan disappear. FACT: These 88.1 million people will not lose anything. This number is based on a study, conducted by the partisan Lewin Group, which found that as many as 88 million people could choose to drop their private coverage in favor of the more affordable public option. Independent of the vast body of evidence refuting this claim, the only thing that would disappear would be the high premiums that employers and those with private insurance are paying for their current health coverage. Myth 2: Your health care coverage will probably change anyway. Even if you kept your private insurance, eventually most remaining plans – whether employer plans or individual plans – would have to conform to new federal benefit standards. Moreover, the necessary plan "upgrades" will undoubtedly cost you more in premiums. FACT: New federal benefit standards would come into effect and that existing plans must conform to them. This is to alleviate the struggles felt by the millions of Americans with sub-standard health insurance that does not provide adequate coverage or preventative services, such as health screenings, regular check-ups and services for newborns and prenatal care. Moreover, by homogenizing health insurance plans, the proposed health insurance exchange will be even more effective at driving down premium costs by allowing closer comparisons between different plan options. Myth 3: The umpire is also the first baseman. The main argument for a "public option" is that it would increase competition. However, if the federal government creates a health care plan that it controls and also sets the rules for the private plans, there is little doubt that Washington would put its private sector "competitors" out of business sooner or later. FACT: This fear is unfounded. The public plan option will introduce competition into areas where only one or two providers have monopolized the insurance market. Such competition can only serve to revitalize the health care market and force insurance providers to provide affordable health coverage to consumers. If private sector competitors are unable to compete, it will be because they have failed to meet the demands of the American people for high quality, affordable health care coverage. Myth 4: The fed picks your treatment. President Obama said: "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier. ... If there's a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and

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works just as well, why not pay half for the thing that's going to make you well." Does that sound like a government that will stay out of your health care decisions? FACT: The President was talking about greater coordination of care and about the increasingly added expense to Americans for disjointed and redundant health care services. As with the myth above, the free market is designed to incentivize high quality, affordable health coverage. If we provide opportunities for coordinated care, which would reduce the number of doctors visits and testing that one must receive, and if we provide incentives for the development of generic drug alternatives, which are just as effective as the more expensive name-brand “red pills,” does the government really need to tell us which way is better? As the President said, “If doctors and patients have the best information about what works and what doesn't, then they're going to want to pay for what works.” Myth 5; Individual mandate means less liberty and more taxes. Although he once opposed the idea, President Obama is now open to the imposition of an individual mandate that would require all Americans to have federally approved health insurance. This unprecedented federal directive not only takes away your individual freedom but could cost you as well. Lawmakers are considering a penalty or tax for those who don't buy governmentapproved health plans. FACT: One of the greatest threats to individual liberty in America today is the threat of illness, disease and preventable death. By mandating that everyone have and maintain proper health coverage, we can stabilize and drive down the costs of health insurance, which will make coverage more affordable of all Americans. This makes possible life and the pursuit of happiness. Myth 6: Higher taxes than Europe hurt small businesses. A proposed surtax on the wealthy will actually hit hundreds of thousands of small business owners who are dealing with a recession. If it is enacted, America's top earners and job creators will carry a larger overall tax burden than France, Italy, Germany, Japan, etc., with a total average tax rate greater than 52%. Is that the right recipe for jobs and wage growth? FACT: Small business owners already carry an enormous burden, with some employers unable to afford the rising cost of insurance premiums. The proposed legislation would ease this burden by exempting 76 percent of small businesses from any shared responsibility requirement and insulating 96 percent of small business owners from the effects of any tax surcharge. Additionally, the Small Business Majority, an organization dedicated to protecting the interests of small business owners, recently released a report which highlighted the savings that would benefit small businesses under the proposed health care legislation. Together with the health insurance exchange, these reforms will help small firms’ bottom line, allowing them to focus more of their attention on running their business and creating jobs.

Myth: Who makes medical decisions? What is the right medical treatment and should bureaucrats determine what Americans can or cannot have? While the House and Senate language is vague, amendments offered in House and Senate committees to block government rationing of care were routinely defeated. Cost or a federal health board could be the deciding factors. President Obama himself admitted this when

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he said, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller," when asked about an elderly woman who needed a pacemaker. FACT: There is already someone between you and your doctor. It’s called the private insurance company, and they are not offering you the surgery or the painkiller. Private health insurance companies place limits on the care they will cover, delaying or denying care that you need when you need it most. Health care reform clamps down on these insurance company abuses by making it impossible for insurance companies to deny or rescind coverage due to a pre-existing condition or chronic illness. Health care reform will also ensure that every health plan covers the services necessary to promote good health and will fund research (that compares the effectiveness, benefits and risks of alternative treatments) to help doctors and patients make better-informed treatment decisions. Choices about your care will be left to you and your doctor. Myth 8: Taxpayer-funded abortions. Nineteen Democrats recently asked the President to not sign any bill that doesn't explicitly exclude "abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan" or any bill that allows a federal health board to "recommend abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package." Currently, these provisions do not exist. FACT: Nothing in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage — or any other type of medical procedure. Currently, private insurance companies make their own decisions on whether or not abortion is a covered procedure. Current reform efforts will continue in that vein and allow consumers to choose a plan that is in line with their own principles. Myth 9: It's not paid for. The CBO says the current House plan would increase the deficit by $239 billion over 10 years. And that number will likely continue to rise over the long term. Similar entitlement bills in the past, including Medicare, have scored much lower than their actual eventual cost. FACT: The CBO released estimates that H.R. 3200 is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget window - and even produces a $6 billion surplus. CBO estimated more than $550 billion in gross Medicare and Medicaid savings. More importantly, the bill includes a comprehensive array of delivery reforms to set the stage for lowering the future growth in health care costs, which while perhaps not “scoreable,” are considered by many to be among the surest forms of cost containment in the legislation. Myth 10: Rushing it, not reading it. We've been down this road before--with the failed stimulus package. Back then, we also heard that we were in a crisis and that we needed to pass a 1,000-plus-page bill in a few hours--without reading it--or we would have 8% unemployment. Well, we know what happened. Now, one Congressman has even said it's pointless to read one of the reform bills without two days and two lawyers to make sense of it. Deception is the only reason to rush through a bill nobody truly understands. FACT: Health care reform is not a brand-new idea. Republicans and Democrats alike have been trying to pass health reform care legislation for 90 years. All of the major committees who have jurisdiction on health care in Congress have held major hearings, town hall meetings and policy summits since 2007 that have informed the recent national discussion on health care reform.

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And, with more than 44,000 people losing health coverage each week, the time to act is now. While we wait, costs are increasing every day, leaving many people with stacks of medical bills they cannot afford and businesses reducing or eliminating coverage. The longer we wait to pass health reform, the higher these costs will climb. The longer we wait, the more Americans who will die due to a lack of health insurance coverage and the millions more who will be harmed by preventable medical errors and accidents. Other myths being propagated Myth 11: Health care reform will provide health insurance to illegal immigrants. About 5.6 million illegal immigrants will be covered by health care reform bills. All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free health care services. FACT: Illegal immigrants are specifically excluded from coverage. Of course, this means that they will continue to get their health care from expensive emergency rooms, which has been a major contributor to rising health care costs. According to H.R. 3200, Page 143, Line 3, Section 246: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens. Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." Myth 12: A government-run plan will encourage seniors to choose an early death. The government will force Medicare beneficiaries to decide how they want to die. FACT: Health reform promotes healthier lives, not premature death. If an individual chooses to do so, the proposed legislation will help him or her set up a “living will” that will put him or her in the driver’s seat by letting him or her make the choices about medical care that he or she wants. Counseling on these private issues will be offered to seniors only if it is requested on a voluntary basis. It is important to remember that the current reform movement is about improving choice, not forcing health care decisions. Myth 13: Some people won't be covered. Health care reform will leave certain populations out of insurance programs. FACT: Except for illegal immigrants, all people will have the opportunity to be covered, either via employer-provided plans or via the Health Insurance Exchange, which could include a public plan option similar to Medicare, or a co-op approach similar to rural electric arrangements that are owned by members. Those who opt out of coverage will be required to pay a penalty, which will be deposited to the general fund maintained for the public option. The penalty is intended to offset the cost of "adverse selection"; that is, the cost associated with those who only choose to purchase insurance when a serious illness arises. The more people we have with health coverage, the better the outcomes for everyone.

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Myth 14: We will have long wait times for health care services if we end up with a public option. Americans will have to endure long waits to see primary care physicians and specialists under government-run health care. FACT: This is usually tied to an anecdotal report from Canada. The reality is that wait times vary from area to area, as well as from service to service in Canada and Europe, but the same may be said of United States. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement estimates that Americans are waiting nearly 70 days to see a provider, and up to four weeks for lifethreatening conditions. New studies show that Americans wait far longer to receive basic primary care than their European counterparts. Myth 15: Health care reform protects health insurers due to deals that have been made. Health care reform actually protects private insurance companies rather than regulating them. FACT: The truth is that the group that is affected most adversely by health reform is the insurance industry. The proposed legislation is full of new policies and programs that are designed to keep insurers honest while protecting the American public by providing for more affordable, high quality health care.

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