The last weekend of summer may have knocked a day off of the work week, but the false and misleading claims didn’t take a break. As always, we were on the case. The highlight of the week, of course, was President Obama’s Sept. 9 address on health care to a joint session of Congress. Contrary to at least one now-notorious critic, the president did not lie about illegal immigrants: The House bill specifically states that no affordability credits will go to anyone in the country illegally.... Click to Read the Full Post
Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, whose ads we have faulted in the past, is airing a new spot that calls for dropping any federal insurance option from the health care overhaul bills. "Despite what the president or Congress say," the narrator tells us, "their health care proposals do not guarantee you can keep your own doctor." And there’s no guarantee you won’t "wait longer for care," face "rationing," or "lose your insurance,"... Click to Read the Full Post
Summary The latest ad from the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights claims that "new rules could hike your health insurance premiums 95 percent." That’s misleading. The claim in the ad refers to only 5 percent of Americans who have health insurance – those who buy it on their own. The claim comes from an analysis by a group that advocates for insurance carriers that sell policies in the individual market, among other areas. That analysis... Click to Read the Full Post
Summary A new ad from Conservatives for Patients’ Rights says that a public health insurance plan now being proposed in Congress "could crush all your other choices, driving them out of existence, resulting in 119 million off their current insurance coverage." That’s misleading. The 119 million figure comes from an analysis of a plan that would mirror Medicare and be open to every individual and business that wanted it. But that’s not the type of public plan President... Click to Read the Full Post
The group Conservatives for Patients’ Rightshas produced a 30-minute documentary-style commercial, which aired May 31 on NBC after "Meet the Press." Hosted by former CNN anchor Gene Randall, the program, labeled "paid programming" throughout, was a very lengthy version of ads the group has run criticizing government-run health care systems in Britain and Canada. We called one of the group’s ads "misleading," saying that it "falsely suggests Congress... Click to Read the Full Post
