MSNBC’s Ali Velshi put Trump’s recent statements about healthcare under the fact check microscope and found the truth about what Trump is doing to the health care system in the United States.
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Velshi said:
President Trump is being accused of making false claims about health care, blasting Democrats in an op-ed that was written in the newspaper just weeks before midterm voting begins so for fact’s sake let’s break down what’s true and not. Trump is claiming the Democrats medicare for all ends Medicare as we know it and take benefits away that seniors have paid for for their entire lives. That’s just not true.
While the plan would change Medicare to include everyone, and I think we have to talk about this without endorsing it, it expands benefits without premiums and deductibles and adding dental, vision and hearing aid coverage. Trump claiming the plan to quote cost astonishing $32.6 trillion in the first 10 years. Guess what. His claim is true. According to two separate analysis of Senator Sanders proposal, however, supporters say this number doesn’t paint the full picture because new federal spending, this $32.6 trillion, would replace all existing premiums and deductibles for everyone in the country. So it’s $32.6 trillion versus what? There’s a lot of debate about the cost to compare to our current system. One of the analysis found the total health care spending, public and private, would actually drop by $2 trillion in 1 scenario if the bill is law. It requires a major increase in taxes. That part is true. But then you wouldn’t be paying premiums.
Speaking of premiums, the president claims they’re coming down. That is a whopper. That’s false. The Kaiser family foundation says the average premium for a single person up 3% while the average family premium is up 5%. There aren’t a lot of worlds in which the premiums were going down and assume when somebody says the premiums are going down that’s a lie and Kaiser said premiums are expected to stabilize next year partially because insurers spiked the prices last year. Trump claimed he kept the promise to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions. That’s false. The administration is backing a Republican-led lawsuit arguing that Obamacare’s protections for pre-existing conditions are actually illegal. All right. So that’s where we stand right now. That’s a mostly false op-ed about health care.
Why Republicans Chose Now To Revive Their Healthcare Lies
The number one issue for voters in the midterm election according to public opinion polling is healthcare. Trump unleashed a pack of lies on the issue in the hope that voters would not notice what his policies have done to the healthcare system in the United States. Republicans are setting up a false choice on health care. The choices aren’t Medicare for All or no healthcare protections for anyone.
There is a moderate path where healthcare is available to all and affordable with protections for preexisting conditions. The country could strengthen Obamacare with the goal of moving toward universal coverage.
Trump lies won’t work, because of what Republicans have done, and voters are going to make them pay at the ballot box in November.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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