Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - March 28, 2010

Face the Nation

CLAIM: Sen. DeMint believes health care reform will bankrupt the United States.

Sen. Jim DeMint: "If this health care bill stands, it'll not only destroy our health care system, we believe it will bankrupt our country."

FACT: Health care reform would reduce the deficit by $1.3 trillion over 20 years and create up to 4 million American jobs.

Health Care Reform Will Create Up To 4 Million American Jobs In The Next Decade. According to the Center for American Progress, "Relative to baseline employment forecasts from the Employment Projections Program at the U.S. Department of Labor, we estimate that moderate medical savings from health care modernization as envisioned under the legislation now before Congress would lead to an average of 250,000 additional jobs created annually. Under the larger assumption about savings due to health care reform, 400,000 new jobs a year would be created on average." [Center for American Progress, New Jobs Through Better Health Care, January 2010]

CBO: Health Care Reform Package Would Reduce The Deficit By $138 Billion By 2019. According to the Congressional Budget Office: "The reconciliation proposal includes provisions related to health care and revenues, many of which would amend H.R. 3590. It also includes amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which authorizes most federal programs involving postsecondary education. CBO and JCT estimate that enacting both pieces of legislation-H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal- would produce a net reduction in federal deficits of $138 billion over the 2010-2019 period as result of changes in direct spending and revenue." [CBO, 3/18/10]

CLAIM: Rep. Bachmann used a debunked "study" to support her false assertions about health care reform. 

Rep. Michele Bachmann: "The New England Journal of Medicine released a survey the week that President Obama signed ObamaCare stating that over 30% of am physicians would leave the profession if the government took over health care.  That's very serious going forward."

FACT: Poll cited by Rep. Bachmann was not commissioned by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Poll Numbers Quoted By Investor's Business Daily As Product Of New England Journal Of Medicine.  According to Investor's Business Daily:

"This poll, conducted by the Medicus Firm, a physician search and consulting outfit, found that 29.2% of the nearly 1,200 doctors it queried said they would quit or retire early if a health overhaul were passed into law. That number jumped to 45.7% - nearly identical to our own - if a public option were included.

This poll, by the way, was published as an insert in the New England Journal of Medicine - one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world." [Investor's Business Daily, 3/17/10]

NEJM: Medicus Firm Does Not Represent The Opinions Of The New England Journal Of Medicine.  The New England Journal of Medicine's Career Center posted the following statement in reference to the Medicus Firm survey:

"Recruiting Physicians Today is a free advertiser newsletter published by the Worldwide Advertising Sales and Marketing Department in the publishing division of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Each issue of the newsletter features research and content produced by physician recruiting firms and other independent groups involved in physician employment.

On December 17, 2009 The Medicus Firm, a national physician search firm based in Dallas and Atlanta, published the results of a survey they conducted with 1,000 physicians regarding their attitudes toward health reform. To read their survey results at The Medicus Firm website, click here.

The opinions expressed in the article linked to above represent those of The Medicus Firm only. That article does not represent the opinions of the New England Journal of Medicine or the Massachusetts Medical Society." [NEJMjobs.org, 3/28/10, emphasis added]

CLAIM: Rep. Bachmann (again) misquoted Christina Romer to support a lie about health care reform costing American jobs.

Rep. Bachmann: "President Obama's own numbers, his own economic adviser, Christina Romer, said that ObamaCare could cost the economy five and a half million jobs lost."

FACT: Christina Romer did not say anything of the sort & health care reform could create millions of jobs over the next ten years.

PolitiFact.com rated Bachmann's claim, which has been repeated by multiple Republicans, FALSE. 

Republicans' Analysis "Problematic And Contrary To How Obama's Economic Adviser Said The Model Should Work." According to PolitiFact.com, "Obama's economic adviser - Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers - has never said that a tax in the health care bill would cost up to 5.5 million jobs. Republicans have used her 2007 research to develop a calculation for job losses for any type of tax increase. If you have a number for tax revenues generated, then this model will give you a number of jobs lost. But there are factors that make this type of analysis troublesome when it comes to the health care bill. Romer's 2007 research, for example, said that tax increases that fund spending for social programs tend to balance out, and economic growth stays on an even keel. Another problem is that the Republicans take tax increases that happen over 10 years and treat them as if they happen in one year, which inflates the numbers of jobs that might be lost. Finally, this particular Republican analysis includes more taxes than just the surtax of page 336; it also includes the employer mandates of page 313. We find this analysis to be problematic and contrary to how Obama's economic adviser said the model should work." [PolitiFact.com, 11/4/09]

Romer: "Health Care Reform Is An Economic Necessity." On June 2, 2009, White House economic adviser Christina Romer wrote, "Health care reform is more than a social imperative - it is an economic necessity. A new study by the President's Council of Economic Advisers demonstrates that the current American health care system is on an unsustainable path. Without health care reform, American workers and families will continue to experience eroding health care benefits and stagnating wages caused by the pressure of escalating health insurance premiums. And without reform, rising spending on Medicare and Medicaid will lead to massive and unsustainable Federal budget deficits." [Romer op-ed, Yahoo! News, 6/2/09]

Romer: Health Care Reform Will "Allow Lower Unemployment." On June 2, 2009, White House economic adviser Christina Romer wrote, "Controlling health care cost growth would allow lower unemployment in the short and medium run, without putting pressure on inflation. Employment could be 500,000 higher for a number of years." [Romer op-ed, Yahoo! News, 6/2/09]