Monday, October 9, 2017

Was Obamacare a government takeover of health care?

An open letter to PolitiFact

Dear PolitiFact,

In 2010 you named your second "Lie of the Year." It was the GOP talking point that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, represented a government takeover of health care.

The claim received a number of "Pants on Fire" ratings that year. According to PolitiFact's statement of principles, the "Pants on Fire" rating denotes a claim that is false and not merely false but also ridiculous.

The ACA now has the force of law, and some have expressed concern that spiking premium rates may lead to health insurance death spirals. Such death spirals may lead to insurers abandoning some markets and leaving them without an insurer.

The right blames the ACA. The left blames the Trump administration for not administering the law in a way aimed at helping it succeed.

And all of this leads up to my questions for you, PolitiFact.

If the ACA did not result in a government takeover of health care, then why do health insurance markets across the nation now depend on federal executive action for stability?

Would that have proved the case if the ACA (or something like it) had never passed?

Do you see why it's hard to take you seriously?


Sincerely,
PolitiFact Bias


P.S. Yes, we know your commitment to transparency generally doesn't include responding to criticism.



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