ATR's Ryan Ellis: Tax Policy Director And Fear Mongering Specialist

FALSE: "Most Americans Don't Rate Health Care As A Particularly Important Issue"

Ellis: "...So despite the fact that most Americans don't rate health care as a particularly important issue..."

Plurality of Americans Polled Think Health Care Is The Most Pressing Issue For Congress And The President.  According to a New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted February 18-22, 2009 and based on 1,112 respondents, when asked "Beside the economy, which of these domestic policy areas do you want the President and Congress to concentrate on MOST right now - health care, global warming, education, or Social Security?" the respondents answers were: 40% Health Care, 5% Global Warming, 27% Education, 22% Social Security, 4% Something Else/Combination, and 1% Didn't Know.  [New York Times/CBS Poll, 2/09]

More Than 70% Of Americans Polled Want An Increased Governmental Role In Health Care.  According to CNN, "seventy-two percent of those questioned in recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they favor increasing the federal government's influence over the country's health care system in an attempt to lower costs and provide health care coverage to more Americans, with 27 percent opposing such a move. Other recent polls show six in 10 think the government should provide health insurance or take responsibility for providing health care to all Americans." [CNN.com, 3/5/09]

More Than 60% Of Americans Think The Federal Government "Should Guarantee" Health Care For All Americans.  When asked, "Do you think the federal government should guarantee health care for all Americans, or don't you think so?" during a CNN/Opinion Research poll, a majority of Americans, 62 %, said "should guarantee," 38% said "don't think so," and 1% "unsure." [CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, 5/14-17/09]

FALSE: "Many Americans That Don't Have Health Insurance Don't Have It Voluntarily"

Ellis: "...and those Americans that have health insurance are generally happy with it, and many Americans that don't have health insurance don't have it voluntarily..."

The Americans who don't have health insurance do not lack it "voluntarily."  Health insurance, especially on the individual market, is cost prohibitive for many families. 

2008: Full Family Coverage Cost Nearly $13,000.  The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured reported: "On average, employees with employer-sponsored coverage pay 16% of the cost of their own coverage and 27% of the cost of family coverage.   In 2008, the full annual cost of employer-sponsored health insurance averaged $4,704 for an individual policy and $12,680 for a family policy." [KFF.org, accessed 1/14/09, emphasis added]

Buying Insurance As An Individual Or Family Increases Risk Of Coverage Rejection.  According to the New York Times, "individual insurance differs sharply from the group coverage with which most people are familiar. Group policies generally require that the insurer cover everybody in the group, and charge the same rates for all. But with individual coverage, insurers in many states can vary their prices based on medical history, exclude certain services or reject anyone they consider a bad risk." [New York Times, 6/1/08, emphasis added]

FALSE: All Health Care Reform Advocates Want "Completely Government Run Socialized Health Care"

Ellis:  "Well, absolutely, obviously in their heart of hearts their preference is for the government to just socialize health care - to turn us into Canada or France or some other country that has completely government run socialized health care, almost as if everyone was to sign up for Medicare like old people have today."

Obama's Plan "Is Hardly A Form Of Wild-Eyed State Socialism."  E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote in the Washington Post, "Supporters of where Obama is heading need to acknowledge that action on health care makes government's growth inevitable. Obama's opponents need to admit that increasing government's share of the economy by less than two percentage points is hardly a form of wild-eyed state socialism. To put all these numbers in perspective, health care as a whole already consumes 16 percent of the economy and, at the current rate of growth, will hit nearly 20 percent by 2017. We'll pay for health care somehow, either out of our pockets or in our tax bills." [Brookings.edu, accessed 3/10/09; Washington Post, 3/2/09, emphasis added]

"Inaccurate Rhetoric About Socialized Medicine And Government-Run Health Care Is A Distraction" From The Policy Debate.  According to a report on socialized medicine issued by the Urban Institute, "the core issue in health reform is not specifically the role of government, but what policies yield the best possible consequences for the American public.  Such results include the number of people with health coverage, individuals' access to quality care, curbing cost growth, and consumers' ability to make choices about their health care and health coverage.  Inaccurate rhetoric about socialized medicine and government-run health care is a distraction from these much more fundamental concerns." [Urban.org, 4/2008]

Obama "Rebooting A Crashed Capitalist System." In an op-ed published by the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson, executive director of the American Prospect, wrote, "in fact Obama, like Roosevelt before him, is engaged not in creating socialism but in rebooting a crashed capitalist system. The spending in Obama's stimulus plan isn't a socialist takeover. It's the only way to inject money into a system in which private-sector investment, consumption and exports -- the other three possible engines of growth -- are locked down. Investing more tax dollars in education and research and development is a way to use public funds to create a more competitive private sector. Keeping our banks from speculating madly with our money is a way to keep banking alive." [Washington Post, 3/4/09, emphasis added]

The Majority Of Americans Want An Obama-style Mix of Public and Private According to a poll conducted by Lake Research:

• 60% of Americans favor "providing access to affordable, quality health care for all Americans even if it means raising taxes."
• 71% of Americans favor "providing access to affordable, quality health care for all Americans even if it means a major role for the federal government."
• 73% of Americans prefer "having a choice of private health insurance or a public health insurance plan." [Lake Research poll, 01/09]

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