Health Care Reform Myths Debunked

Death panels won't die. Even though the story of health care reform was well-reported, some people still believe that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is going to kill their grandmas. The bill, Republicans never let us forget, is over 2,000 pages long, so there's bound to be some confusion. (Full text is available here, but do yourself a favor and read the Kaiser Family Foundation's distillation here.) Unfortunately, that confusion, when coupled with misrepresentation by the opposition, leads to fear, anger and, well, ... are you familiar with a movement called the Tea Party?

Thankfully, National Public Radio and Kaiser Health News collaborated on a story just in time, before any more bricks are thrown, that clarifies exactly what the bill is going to do. (Not that I expect the debunking to get picked up on by unfriendly media outlets, but it's welcome still.) Perhaps it can do something to quell the reform-inspired scams that have already started bilking consumers out of their credit card numbers.

Since the rationing of care is still a concern, the braintrust took that one on first. The statement, "Comparative effectiveness research will lead to the rationing of care for the elderly" earned a definitive "Not true." Comparativeness effectiveness research is in fact a vital part of making health care more effective and efficient for everyone, grandma included. Medicare will not be required to include or exclude coverage for any particular procedures based on the recommendations of the advisory panel created by the bill.

As for a favorite scare tactic of Bill O'Reilly's, that IRS "bounty hunters" will come after you if you're not adequately covered under the mandate, it earned a "Mostly not true" from the fact-checkers. While the IRS may staff up for the administrative duties of monitoring who's insured, IRS officials say it is actually the Department of Health and Human Services that will determine whether people are adequately covered.

It's also "mostly not true" that undocumented immigrants will get free health care. The bill includes stringent policies barring non-citizens from taking advantage of the benefits of reform. Undocumented immigrants can still, of course, get treatment in emergency rooms and free clinics that admirably treat everyone in need regardless of citizenship status or ability to pay.

For more, read the whole story on NPR.

Photo credit: Eggybird