Debunking common myths about health-care reform.

House Republicans plan to
press forward Wednesday with
their effort to repeal the
health-care law enacted last
year. They have the votes, so
the bill's passage is not in
doubt. But
the Democrats who
control the Senate have no
interest in following suit, and
President Obama has pledged
a veto. So this is mostly a
symbolic act. But it's an issue
that comes with a number of
popular myths that persist and
are worth revisiting.
"This is a 'government
takeover' of the health-care
system."
Republicans repeatedly use
this snappy talking point to
bash Obama's crowning
legislative achievement - but it
is simply not true.
In many ways, the health-care
law resembles the reform
legislation that Massachusetts
enacted in 2006 under then-
Gov. Mitt Romney (a
Republican and potential
presidential rival of Obama in
2012). It builds on the existing
private insurance system,
adding requirements and
incentives to ensure that most
people have some form of
health insurance.
Under the nation's new law,
the private system has no
government alternative - this
was a potential provision that
was dropped during the
congressional tussle.
The number of people who
qualify for the existing
federal-state Medicaid
program for the poor will be
expanded. States (or the
federal government) will run
"exchanges," or
marketplaces, in which private
insurers will sell coverage to
individuals and small
businesses. But this should
mean that more, not fewer,
people will get private
insurance. Tax credits will also
be offered to people who have
trouble buying private
insurance.
Certainly, the law bolsters
government regulation of the
health-care system, such as
forcing insurance companies
to no longer deny coverage to
people who have existing
medical conditions. People
who do not have insurance
will be required to buy it. But
the core of the health-care
system in the United States
will remain the private
insurance market.
"Medicare benefits will be cut
- and payments will be cut to
Medicare doctors."
This was another GOP attack
line during the 2010 midterm
campaign, though in many
ways it was payback for the
Democrats' effective use of
the same charge against
Republicans in 1994, when
they sought to restrain growth
in Medicare spending.
The politically radioactive
word "cut" is a misnomer.
Under the health-care law,
Medicare spending will
continue to increase year
after year, but at a slower
pace than anticipated. Both
parties, in theory, agree that
this is a good thing. Medicare,
the venerable government-run
health-care plan for
Americans older than 65, is
one of the fastest-growing
parts of the federal budget.
The health-care bill will cut
projected Medicare spending
by $575 billion over 10 years,
primarily by lowering
projected fees paid to
hospitals and other providers
and by reducing payments to
private Medicare Advantage
insurance plans. Benefits have
also been added, eating into
the overall projected savings,
but the effect on the Medicare
Advantage plans is unclear.
"A secretive government
committee ['death panels'] will
be created to make end-of-life
decisions about people on
Medicare."
This claim, first made by
former Alaska governor Sarah
Palin, has been thoroughly
debunked. Yet it persists. A
Kaiser Family Foundation poll
in September found that 30
percent of seniors still
believed this to be the case
and that 22 percent were not
sure - meaning that fewer
than half knew the claim was
false.
The charge stemmed from a
proposed amendment to the
bill that would have covered
the cost of end-of-life planning
discussions. Democrats quickly
dropped the provision after
the firestorm created by
Palin's assertion, even after it
was proved incorrect.

Source: Http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011806519.html