On March 19, 2010, Jane Hamsher published a list of 18 myths associated with the healthcare bill, which was recently passed by our House (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/fact-sheet-the-truth-abou_b_506026.html). We selected 10 myths from her list that we find to be the most eye-opening and frightening. Drum roll please….

Myth 1: This is a universal health care bill.

Fact: The bill is neither universal health care nor universal health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office:

·         Total uninsured in 2019 with no bill: 54 million

·         Total uninsured in 2019 with Senate bill: 24 million

Myth 3: The bill will significantly bring down insurance premiums for most Americans.

Fact: The bill will not bring down premiums significantly, and certainly not the $2,500/year that President Obama promised during his campaign.

Annual premiums in 2016: status quo / with bill:
Small group market, single: $7,800 / $7,800
Small group market, family: $19,3oo / $19,200
Large Group market, single: $7,400 / $7,300
Large group market, family: $21,100 / $21,300
Individual market, single: $5,500 / $5,800
Individual market, family: $13,100 / $15,200

(The cost of premiums in the individual market goes up somewhat due to subsidies and mandates of better coverage. The CBO assumes that cost of individual policies goes down 7-10%, and that people will buy more generous policies.)

Myth 4: The bill will make health care affordable for middle class Americans.

Fact: The bill will impose a financial hardship on middle class Americans who will be forced to buy a product that they can't afford to use.

A family of four making $66,370 will be forced to pay $5,243 per year for insurance. After basic necessities, this leaves them with $8,307 in discretionary income -- out of which they would have to cover clothing, credit card and other debt, child care and education costs, in addition to $5,882 in annual out-of-pocket medical expenses for which families will be responsible.

Myth 7: You can keep the insurance you have if you like it.

Fact: The excise tax will result in employers switching to plans with higher co-pays and fewer covered services.  Older, less healthy employees with employer-based health care will be forced to pay much more in out-of-pocket expenses than they do now.

Myth 11: The bill "bends the cost curve" on health care.

Fact: "Bends the cost curve" is a misleading and trivial claim, as the U.S. would still spend far more for care than other advanced countries.

·         In 2009, health care costs were 17.3% of GDP.

·         Annual cost of health care in 2019, status quo: $4,670.6 billion (20.8% of GDP)

·         Annual cost of health care in 2019, Senate bill: $4,693.5 billion (20.9% of GDP)

Myth 13: The bill prohibits dropping people in individual plans from coverage when they get sick.

Fact: The bill does not empower a regulatory body to keep people from being dropped when they're sick. There are already many states that have laws on the books prohibiting people from being dropped when they're sick, but without an enforcement mechanism, there is little to hold the insurance companies in check.

Myth 15: This bill will stop insurance companies from hiking rates 30%-40% per year.

Fact: This bill does not limit insurance company rate hikes. Private insurers continue to be exempt from anti-trust laws, and are free to raise rates without fear of competition in many areas of the country.

Myth 16: When the bill passes, people will begin receiving benefits under this bill immediately

Fact: Most provisions in this bill, such as an end to the ban on pre-existing conditions for adults, do not take effect until 2014.

Myth 17: The bill creates a pathway for single payer.

Fact: Bernie Sanders' provision in the Senate bill does not start until 2017, and does not cover the Department of Labor, so no, it doesn't create a pathway for single payer.

Myth 18: The bill will end medical bankruptcy and provide all Americans with peace of mind.

Fact: Most people with medical bankruptcies already have insurance, and out-of-pocket expenses will continue to be a burden on the middle class.

·         In 2009, 1.5 million Americans declared bankruptcy.  Of those, 62% were medically related and three-quarters of those had health insurance.

·         The Obama bill leaves 24 million without insurance

·         The maximum yearly out-of-pocket limit for a family will be $11,900 (PDF) on top of premiums

·         A family with serious medical problems that last for a few years could easily be financially crushed by medical costs

Thanks to those that got through this list – good for you. But, therein lies the frustration for so many Americans with our Nation’s political leadership. Many feel it doesn’t matter if we educate ourselves on Administration’s efforts to reform healthcare or not because Congress will just ram it down our throats anyhow. Well, although that seems to be all too true right now, we can’t give up on our system. November is not all that far away, and we will have a say then. So, remember the deaf ear that was turned to your cries for better reform, and remember how this bill was passed.

- The Philadelphians