Can’t the Fact Checkers get it right? Obviously not...
AP has an article up titled "FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama plan" that then shows how premiums go down. The logic in the piece is that people will buy better insurance than they have now, causing premiums to go up.
Apple, meet Orange.
Perhaps it would be instructive to read the rest of the article and see how they reached their conclusions.
What is being Fact Checked? Premiums will rise under the Obama plan.
What Facts are available? The only acceptable source is the CBO estimates, which are quoted in the article. Let’s see what CBO says.
How about employers who pay for their employee’s health care?
"It found that large employers would see premium savings of at most 3 percent compared with what their costs would have been without the legislation."
OK. Employers save 3% or so.
What about individuals buying insurance on the open market?
"The claim that people buying coverage individually would save 14 percent to 20 percent comes from the same budget office report."
OK. Individuals save 14 to 20%.
And
""People are likely to not buy the same low-value policies they are buying now," said health economist Len Nichols of George Mason University. "If they did buy the same value plans ... the premium would be lower than it is now."
And how much more will it cost them?
The budget office concluded that premiums for people buying their own coverage would go up by an average of 10 percent to 13 percent, compared with the levels they'd reach without the legislation. That's mainly because policies in the individual insurance market would provide more comprehensive benefits than they do today.
For most households, those added costs would be more than offset by the tax credits provided under the bill, and they would pay significantly less than they have to now.
OK. Employers pay less. Individuals pay less. In the case where families upgrade their policies to where they cost 10% more than currently, they pay less.
NOWHERE in this article is it indicated that health insurance payments will go up for anyone who maintains their current coverage. People who feel underinsured may want to buy better policies, and will be able to do it - and pay less.
FACT: Health insurance premiums will go down for everyone under the Obama Plan.
FACT CHECK AP: AP’s Fact Check is a FAIL.