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The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler fact-checked a "dubious" claim made by President Biden on ObamaCare, awarding the president two Pinocchios for vastly overestimating the amount of Americans who could lose health care if Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
On April 5, Biden, during remarks with former President Barack Obama, said that if "Republicans have their way" it would mean that 100 million Americas with preexisting health conditions "can once again be denied" health care by private insurance companies.
"That’s what the law was before ObamaCare," Biden said at the time.
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FILE - President Joe Biden looks to former President Barack Obama after signing an executive order during an event about the Affordable Care Act, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Kessler, in his analysis, noted that Biden’s claim did not "tell the whole story" and included all Americans with preexisting conditions when in reality "a large percentage" would be unlikely to face a healthcare coverage denial or even a higher premium.
"A better figure to use would be at least half that size," Kessler wrote.
The Washington Post fact-checker added that Biden’s claim likely originated from a study procured by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Obama, which estimated between 61 million and 133 million Americans below the age of 65 had a preexisting health condition. The study said any of these "individuals" could have been denied coverage had they needed "individual market health insurance" prior to the passing of ObamaCare.
Kessler noted the "individual" reference was important because the ACA was primarily engaged in the individual healthcare market, which in reality, only accounts for one-seventh of the insurance market – a majority of Americans hold insurance through their employers.
CNN welcomed Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler on Thursday to boast about his most popular fact checks of 2021 despite the No. 1 article being widely mocked. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty images / Singerhmk - wiki commons)
The fact-check also acknowledged a House Energy and Commerce Committee investigation from 2010 which determined that companies denied coverage to only one out of every seven applicants, based on documents obtained from America’s four largest private health insurers.
While the report states the actual number of denials is likely higher than documented, even if one took the entire non-elderly U.S. population, the number would still be significantly less than 100 million, hovering around 38 million.
On April 5, the White House announced it would push forward an amendment to the ACA program that will allow families with health insurance through an employer to receive financial assistance paying for the coverage. Under the proposed change, households that spend 10% or more on health care insurance will now qualify for financial assistance.
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Under the current guidelines of the program, "reasonable" employer-based health insurance is a disqualifying factor in applications for ACA assistance. Affordable has previously been defined as under 10% of income.