Sen. Thune Obfuscates The Truth On Health Care Reform Costs

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) appeared on Fox News today to offer his criticism of the White House summit on health care.  Thune, who is prone to misrepresenting data in his campaign to defeat health care reform, called on Democrats to scrap their proposals altogether and instead, focus on something that Republicans would find more acceptable.  Host Shepard Smith, known for being one of the few personalities on the network who attempts journalism, questioned Thune's motivations and called him out for regurgitating talking points.

THUNE: I think that the only way it could have been bipartisan and actually meaningful and constructive is if they had taken all the previous talking points and the previous bill and set it aside and started over...

SMITH: Why do Republicans want to throw this out and start over, Senator?  Why do they want to do that?  Nobody buys that.  Everybody sees that as "here's how we win.  Our side wins if we get you to throw your thing out, even though you're the majority."  The majority goes, "we win if we get you to come along with us." You're not going to come along with them anymore than they're going to throw their thing out.  So it seems silly to talk about.

The very notion that the Democrats should scrap their bill simply because it is not written as Republicans would like it is offensive.  If the majority party can only govern by adopting wholesale the ideas of the minority party, then what is the purpose of elections?  Several Republicans have conceded that elections have consequences.  And yet, they still talk as if they still hold that gavel.

As we've pointed out, the Democrats have been more than willing to incorporate Republican ideas into their legislation.  Working to achieve a bipartisan consensus is not the issue here, since many Republican lawmakers acknowledge that many of the things they want are included.  From the very start, Republicans have obfuscated the discussion by telling their constituents that comprehensive health insurance reform constitutes a government takeover of health care industry.  Such claims have largely gone unchallenged.

THUNE: Republicans are not going to buy into a bill that costs $2.5 trillion, that raises taxes on small businesses and individuals, that cuts Medicare, and at the end of the day, raises premiums for most Americans. 

SMITH: No it doesn't.  It doesn't raise premiums.  That is not true, Senator.  That is not true.  That's not what the CBO said.  I know your talking points; I know the other side's talking points...

As PolitFact has explained it, "for most people, premiums would stay about the same, or slightly decrease. This was especially true for people who get their insurance through work."  People who buy insurance on the individual market will likely see an increase in their premiums, but that would be because the Senate version of the legislation "sets minimum levels of coverage...that would require some people to pay for better insurance than they have now."  The majority of people on the individual market, however, will be eligible for subsidies.

After being corrected, Thune proceeded to his next talking point.

THUNE: But remember one thing, we can debate whether or not which people are going to see higher premiums, which ones are not.  But the CBO also said, as did the actuary for the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services, that health care costs would go up, not down.  I mean it's clear.  The cost curve gets bent up...

SMITH: Senator, its going to go up without the bill.  You know it.  The CBO says that.  It's going up. 

THUNE: It's going to go up, but what CBO said was its going to go up more if the bill passes.  If we do nothing, the increases will be less that they will be under this legislation.

Again, Thune takes a legitimate analysis done by the CBO and CMS to argue against reform, without contextualizing the data.  He omits the fact that the increase in costs is largely due to the fact that 30 million more Americans will have health insurance.

Senate Bill Will Cover Over 30 Million More Americans...

CMS Reports: Senate Health Care Bill Will Increase The Number Of Insured By 33 Million.  According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "By calendar year 2019, the mandates, coupled with the Medicaid expansion, would reduce the number of uninsured from 57 million, as projected under current law, to an estimated 24 million under the PPACA.  The additional 33 million people who become insured by 2019 reflect the net effect of several shifts. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 12/10/09]

While Increasing Costs By Just 0.7%

CMS: $234 Billion Increase Represents An Increase Of 0.7%.  According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "We estimate that total national health expenditures under this bill would increase by an estimated total of $234 billion (0.7 percent) during calendar year 2010-2019, principally reflecting the net impact of (i) greater utilization of health care service by individuals becoming newly covered (or having complete coverage.) (ii) lower prices paid to health providers for the subset of those individuals who become covered by Medicaid, and (iii) lower payments and payment updates for Medicare services, together with net Medicaid savings from provisions other than the coverage expansion." [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 12/10/09]

10% Increase In The Rate Of Insured Americans

CMS Report: By 2019, Health Care Bill Will Increase Rate Of Insured Americans From 83% to 93%.  According to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 will increase the percentage of insured Americans from 83% to 93% by 2019. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 12/10/09]