Critics Wield The Term ‘Bailout’ As Political Weapon. But In Case Of Insurer Subsidies It May Be Misleading.
Media outlets fact check some of the rhetoric swirling around the health care debate.
The New York Times Fact Check:
Calling Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments ‘A Bailout’ Is Misleading
Most people think of the term “bailout,” as a political pejorative, often involving hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars being funneled to failing companies. It’s now become one of President Trump’s oft-repeated rhetorical cudgels against the Affordable Care Act and federal payments to insurance companies. (Qiu, 10/18)
The Associated Press:
Are Insurers 'Enriched' By Obama Health Law, As Trump Says?
President Donald Trump says health insurers have been "enriched" by President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. So why are companies pulling back from the law's insurance marketplaces? (10/18)
The Washington Post Fact Check:
President Trump’s False Claim That Insurance Companies ‘Have Made A Fortune’ From Obamacare
President Trump has defended his decision to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies — an element of the Affordable Care Act that helped lower the cost of deductibles and co-pays for people making less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level — by pointing to the gain in stock prices for health-insurance companies. (Kessler, 10/19)
