WaPo Slams Obama’s Claim that ‘6 Million’ have Health Insurance Thanks to Obamacare -

The Obama Administration continually plays fast-and-loose with pesky facts. As the failure of Obamacare becomes more and more evident, the task is becoming harder and harder for the Obamacare zealots to spin the news into positive messaging points. To that end, Obama recently tweeted a celebration of the fact that “6 million” Americans have become covered thanks to Obamacare- a manipulated half-truth at best that even the Washington Post slammed as simply untrue.

Obama recently tweeted, “Six million Americans have gotten covered. Have you?” The tweet also included a graphic that stated, “6 million have already signed up for coverage thanks to health reform.” It also included the bold proclamation, “That’s a fact.”

But saying, “That’s a fact” does not, necessarily, make the preceding sentence a fact. If I said, “Oranges and kangaroos are the same thing- that’s a fact,” I would hope that people would have the good sense to challenge the laughable assertion.

The Washington Post, the venerable left-wing publication, challenged the number and explained that, at best, we could only consider the 6 million number as a deliberate distortion of truth.

The Washington Post reported:

The 6 million figure comes from combining a figure of 2.1 million for people selecting a plan via state and federal exchanges, through December, and 3.9 million for Medicaid, through November. Thus the claim that “6 million Americans have already signed up for coverage thanks to health reform.”

There is much less to the Medicaid figure than meets the eye. (The exchange figure has been updated recently, to 2.2 million, but not the Medicaid figure.) Indeed, there has been vast confusion about what this figure means, especially in the news media. The Fact Checker cited the 3.9 million figure in a few recent columns, but prodded by a colleague as well as an interesting analysis by Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics, we decided to take a closer look.

Bottom line: This number tells you almost nothing about how the Affordable Care Act is affecting Medicaid enrollment. Reporters need to stop using it…

Essentially, then, it is ridiculous to suggest, as the @BarackObama tweet does, that the people who have selected a health plan in the exchanges are in anyway equivalent to the 3.9 to 4.2 million who were deemed eligible for Medicaid.

Soon, CMS will release the Medicaid numbers for December. Presumably the new numbers will reveal as little about the impact of the Affordable Care Act as the 3.9 million figure. Reporters need to be very careful about using the new figure in any sentence that includes a reference to the new health-care law.

We’re awarding Three Pinocchios to everyone, including The Fact Checker, who improperly used this number or left the wrong impression about it.

Numbers in politics can be tricky things. Groups are always throwing around heavily-distorted numbers and if these numbers are latched onto by the mainstream media who is, seemingly, content with being fed “facts” rather than researching them themselves, the numbers, regardless of how erroneous they may be, can be confused as facts.

Further, we need some clarification as to what “enrolled” means to the Obama Administration. With 2.1 million having been “enrolled” in Obamacare through the exchanges, we need to know how many window-shopped and how many busted out the check book to pay for their plans. Otherwise, “enrolled” means next-to-nothing.

I have several old Army and Air Force brochures in my closet from when I was 18 and thinking of joining. If those who merely selected plans and nothing else are “enrolled,” then should I consider myself as having “enlisted?”

Obamacare is to legislation as “Gigli” was to film- all sizzle and no steak. The numbers simply aren’t there to keep this God-awful legislation afloat as young people are unsurprisingly unenthused about paying high premiums and deductibles for insurance they don’t want or need.

Perhaps more seriously, though, is the complete lack of faith every American should have by now in the ability of administrators to administer Obamacare. After years of preparation, after billions of dollars and after months of frantic “fixes,” Obamacare is dilapidated on every level as people are losing plans, people cannot purchase plans, mandates are being delayed and sticker-shock is continuing to rattle those who once favored socialized medicine.

In every way, this administration has failed us on Obamacare. For decades, the liberal dream has been a socialized medical field where big-government proved its competency by running the healthcare industry smoothly and effectively and the train derailed before even leaving the station.

And to make matters worse, those pushing Obamacare simply refuse to be candid in their discussion of the mess. It is hardly any wonder why trust in government remains so low.

- See more at: http://www.tpnn.com/2014/01/17/wapo-slams-obamas-claim-that-6-million-have-health-insurance-thanks-to-obamacare/#sthash.2Z6y2Kwd.dpuf

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/01/17/report-number-of-obamacare-cancellations-higher-than-previously-believed-n1780246?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm