FactCheck: on Health Care

Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: US pays twice OECD average, but not every country

According to the most recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, which is for 2018, US per capita spending on health care totaled $10,586. That's twice as much as every country, except for six. Sanders is correct that the U.S. spends a lot more than other nations. It spends more than double the $3,992 average for OECD countries ["OECD counties" means "the developed world," excluding developing countries -- ed.]. But Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Denmark all pay a little more than half of what the U.S. does.

Pete Buttigieg: 2018: Medicare-for-All; 2020: only for those who want it

At the time, Buttigieg was the mayor of South Bend, and not yet a candidate for president. As a candidate, Buttigieg has proposed a more centrist health care proposal than some Democrats. He does not support the Medicare for All plan proposed by Sanders, which would expand Medicare and create a new universal, single-payer health care system in the United States. Rather, Buttigieg is proposing what he calls "Medicare for All Who Want It." It would essentially allow people to buy into Medicare through the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Marco Rubio: FactCheck: ObamaCare is not now forcing loss of insurance

The fact is, ObamaCare is expected to cause millions of uninsured Americans to gain health insurance, not lose it. Rubio's office points to a Congressional Budget Office report that said 27 million of the uninsured would have coverage by 2017.

Rubio's claim about some people losing "health insurance they were happy with" references the CBO's estimate that the number with employer-sponsored coverage would decline by 7 million by 2017. That's a net reduction, with some workers gaining coverage, some losing it, and others deciding to obtain other insurance on their own.

But these are estimates for what the insurance landscape will look like in the future. People aren't "now . losing the health insurance they were happy with," as Rubio said. In fact, CBO's estimates show 2 million uninsured Americans gaining coverage this year.

Tammy Baldwin: Supports single payer, public option, and Medicare for all

Baldwin hasn't advocated for socialized medicine. But she has pushed "Medicare for all" legislation and she supports single payer and the public option--government elements that go beyond President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: healthcare reform saves $2B to $10B, not $250B

The truth is that this largely remains to be seen. Many of the cost-saving measures the president has touted are untested, such as changes in the way care is delivered, new payment models and pilot projects that some experts applaud, and others question.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects that for most Americans, who get their insurance through work, health insurance premium costs won't change significantly from what they would have been without the law. CBO estimated that the major parts will cost $10 billion over the 2010-2019 period, while Medicare's Office of the Actuary determined savings of only $2 billion.

Overall, Medicare's chief actuary expects total spending on health care to rise over 10 years--but that's because about 34 million persons will gain health care coverage.

Michele Bachmann: FactCheck: pre-ObamaCare system was 49th, not best in world

First, the law doesn't create a government-run system. Instead, it builds on our current system and adds a lot of new business for private insurers. Second, some studies on the quality of care worldwide have not put the US at the top. A 2010 Commonwealth Fund study ranked the US last among seven countries in health system performance. In other health outcome measures, the US ranks 49th in life expectancy, according to the CIA World Factbook, and plenty of other countries have lower rates of infant mortality.

Paul Ryan: FactCheck: costs go up just a bit; jobs go down just a bit

Health care spending overall is expected to rise a bit--by less than 1% over a decade. That's because about 34 million more Americans will gain coverage. As for "millions" losin their current coverage, there's truth to that, but context is required. about 8 million low-income workers will get subsidies to go buy their own insurance in state-based exchanges.

Ryan backed his claim about stifling job creation with a CBO report. CBO said the law would have a small impact on the labor supply, and that would be mostly due to workers retiring early or working less because they would have more secure health care options.

Paul Ryan: FactCheck: No evidence that healthcare reform explodes debt

The law is actually expected to reduce the deficit, according to the CBO, over the next two decade and beyond. It remains to be seen whether all of the cost-cutting measures will be fully implemented. But we went through various Republican claims about the supposed flaws in CBO's analysis and found the GOP assertions to be mostly bogus.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Obama's estimate of $1T saved is closer to $132B

It's true that the CBO's admittedly rough estimate said the bill could reduce the deficit below its projected level by "as much as" about $1 trillion over 20 years--but it also said the reduction could be half of that amount. And it noted the estimate is subject to a great deal of uncertainty.

CBO normally gives estimates for 10-year periods, and the nonpartisan entity doesn't like to go beyond that. It said the Senate bill could produce a net deficit reduction of $132 billion over 2010-2019. For the next decade, CBO said the reduction would be "in a broad range between 1/4% and 1/2% of GDP." Senate Democrats estimated that would mean a reduction of $650 billion to $1.3 trillion. But CBO emphasized how squishy that large range is [while Obama did not].

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Healthcare costs cause one bankruptcy per minute

Data show about 934,000 personal bankruptcies in FY 2008. There are about 32 million seconds in a year. So someone filed for bankruptcy roughly every 30 seconds last year. But even a very high estimate would only attribute half of those personal bankruptcies to medical expenses. So that's one health-related bankruptcy every minute at most.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Exempts small business, but no $2,500/yr savings

McCain misstated Obama’s health care plan, claiming it would levy fines on “small businesses” that fail to provide health insurance. Actually, Obama’s plan exempts “small businesses.”

John McCain: FactCheck: Plan is $5,000 per family, not $5,000 per person

Sarah Palin: FactCheck: Obama’s plan does not remove private insurance

Sarah Palin: FactCheck: McCain’s plan costs $14B/year; not budget-neutral

The McCain campaign hasn’t released an estimate of how much the plan would cost, but independent experts contradict Palin’s claim of a cost-free program.

The nonpartisan U.S. Budget Watch’s fiscal voter guide estimates that McCain’s tax credit would increase the deficit by somewhere between $288 billion to $364 billion by the year 2013, and that making employer health benefits taxable would bring in between $201 billion to $274 billion in revenue. That nets out to a shortfall of somewhere between $14 billion to $163 billion--for that year alone.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: McCain’s plan taxes employees, not employers

Obama said, “You may end up getting a $5,000 tax credit. Here’s the only problem: Your employer now has to pay taxes on the health care that you’re getting from your employer. McCain’s plan doesn’t call for taxing employers on health care benefits; it would instead tax employees. As the law stands now, employees don’t pay taxes on the dollar value of their health insurance benefits. Under McCain’s plan, they would.

McCain also misrepresented Obama’s plan when he said that his opponent favored “handing the health care system over to the federal government.” McCain made a similar claim in his acceptance speech, when he said that Obama’s plans would “force families into a government run health care system.” We called it false then and we stand by that. Obama’s plan mandates coverage for children, but not for adults, and it does not require anyone to be covered by a nationalized system.

John McCain: FactCheck: Obama’s plan is voluntary for adults

Obama said, “Your employer now has to pay taxes on the health care that you’re getting from your employer.” McCain’s plan doesn’t call for taxing employers on health care benefits; it would instead tax employees. Employees don’t pay taxes on their health insurance benefits. Under McCain’s plan, they would.

McCain also misrepresented Obama’s plan when he said that his opponent favored “handing the health care system over to the federal government.“ McCain made a similar claim in his acceptance speech, when he said that Obama’s plans would ”force families into a government run health care system.“ We called it false then and we stand by that. Obama’s plan mandates coverag for children, but not for adults, and it does not require anyone to be covered by a nationalized system. Obama’s plan expands the insurance coverage offered by the government, but allows people to keep their own plans or choose from private plans as well

John McCain: FactCheck: McCain’s $5,000 health tax credit would be taxed

But he failed to mention what he would also take away. Under his plan, workers would be taxed on the value of any health benefits paid for by their employers, which isn’t the case under current law.

McCain didn’t include that fact in an ad his campaign aired in May touting his health care plan, either. As we said at the time, the credit isn’t a $5,000 windfall--it’s designed to cover the increased taxes families with employer-sponsored insurance would have to pay.

[Our experts tell] us that there would be “a lot of winners and losers” under McCain’s plan. Those with lower incomes and employer-sponsored insurance might fare better, because they’d be taxed at a lower rate than those in higher tax brackets.

Hillary Clinton: AdWatch: Got health insurance for six million kids

Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, she deserves credit for SCHIP

We review the record and conclude that she deserves plenty of credit, both for the passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation and for pushing outreach efforts to translate the law into reality.

The Boston Globe ran a story with the headline, “Clinton role in health programs disputed.“ We reviewed the Globe story: it quotes a political foe, Sen. Orrin Hatch. About Sen. Ted Kennedy, who cosponsored the original 1997 SCHIP legislation, the Globe said he wouldn’t criticize Clinton ”directly.“ Kennedy is now backing Obama, but said last year, ”The children’s health program wouldn’t be in existence today if we didn’t have Hillary pushing for it from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.“ Others concur. Our conclusion: Clinton is right on this one.

George W. Bush: FactCheck: Tax deduction insures at most 9M, & not poorest

Actually, there is a lot of uncertainty as to how many would benefit from Bush’s proposal. The projected number of uninsured in 2010--51 million--would be reduced by about 6.8 million to 9.2 million, according to different studies. One study calculated that the number of uninsured would actually increase by 1.5 million, because some employers would be prompted stop giving health insurance benefits.

These studies agree that the proposal gives much greater tax benefits to those with higher incomes. A majority of the uninsured, however, couldn’t benefit from the proposed tax deduction at all, because they don’t pay federal income taxes.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, Obama favored single-payer, despite denial

But Obama’s denial doesn’t hold up. In a speech in June 2003, Obama said: “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer health care program. I see no reason why the US cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see.“

After his election, Obama tempered his position, saying in May 2007, ”If you’re starting from scratch, then a single-payer system would probably make sense. But managing the transition would be difficult. So we may need a system that’s not so disruptive.

Barack Obama: FactCheck: No, US costs are not twice as much as others

In a 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation report comparing the health care spending of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries, the United States came in first at $5,711 per capita. But Luxembourg spent $4,611, only $1,100 less per capita than the U.S. The next biggest spender, Switzerland, spent $3,874, also far more than half of U.S. spending. KFF noted, however, that the United States’ spending was “over 90% higher than in many other countries that we would consider global competitors.”

Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Untrue that 47M uninsured want to “not play”

This idea--that most uninsured Americans simply don’t feel like having health insurance--is simply not the case: Most people who are offered insurance do not turn it down. A 2007 study found that 20% of the uninsured could have afforded coverage, but even leaving aside other factors like being turned down for insurance, that’s hardly 47 million people refusing to “play.”

Romney is also misleading when he implies that the uninsured are simply choosing between toeing the line and freeloading. While uninsured individuals can get a certain amount of free emergency care, it is by no means comparable to the care given to those with insurance.

Howard Dean: Fact Check: Dean agreed with Clinton on cuts, not Gingrich