Sen. Ron Johnson
Probably no one has accused Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson of being the brightest bulb in the Republican conference, but his
latest ramblings demonstrate just how dim—or phenomenally dishonest—he's capable of being. (Not that stupid and dishonest are mutually exclusive.)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) appeared on NewsMax TV on Wednesday morning to complain about the "coercive" and "very destructive" consequences of the Affordable Care Act on Wisconsin residents.
Responding to a question about premium increases under the law, Johnson related his own experiences with voters. "I'm driving around Wisconsin, I'm talking to business owners and I'm talking to health care providers and insurance agents as well and they’re seeing that same kind of range [of premium increases for 2015], anywhere from 16 to 60 percent," he explained. "Kind of with an average of around 30 percent here just anecdotally in Wisconsin."
Johnson apparently has talked to very few people in Wisconsin. Or he misunderstood them. Or he's totally making shit up.
ThinkProgress does the math—something which they are capable of because they are not Ron Johnson—and figures out that he's inflated premium increases by 900 percent. Because in the real world, the premiums submitted by insurers to the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) last month show an average increase of just three percent. And two of the insurers are decreasing premiums, Medica Health Plans by an average of 17 percent and Molina Healthcare by an average of 11 percent. They also point out that 91 percent of Wisconsinites who purchased plans through the exchange got subsidies to help with the costs. Oh, and competition has increased for 2015, as two new insurers are joining in.
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Stupid or evil? Probably both, in the case of Johnson. He might have the ability to grasp facts, but he sure isn't going to let them get in the way of the story he wants to tell.