DEBUNKING HEALTH CARE REFORM MYTHS

The initial 10 myths in this report can be found on the Heritage Foundation Web site. We
have identified additional myths in this report that have also been receiving considerable
attention.

MYTH 1: Millions will lose their current insurance. Period. End of story.

President Obama wants Americans to believe they can keep their insurance if they like, but
research from the government, private research firms and think tanks shows this is not the case.
Proposed economic incentives, plus a government-run health plan like the one proposed in the
House bill, would cause 88.1 million people to see their current employer-sponsored health plan
disappear.

FACT: These 88.1 million people will not lose anything. This number is based on a study,
conducted by the partisan Lewin Group, which found that as many as 88 million people
could choose to drop their private coverage in favor of the more affordable public option.
Independent of the vast body of evidence refuting this claim, the only thing that would
disappear would be the high premiums that employers and those with private insurance
are paying for their current health coverage.

Myth 2: Your health care coverage will probably change anyway.

Even if you kept your private insurance, eventually most remaining plans – whether employer
plans or individual plans – would have to conform to new federal benefit standards. Moreover, the
necessary plan "upgrades" will undoubtedly cost you more in premiums.

FACT: New federal benefit standards would come into effect and that existing plans must
conform to them. This is to alleviate the struggles felt by the millions of Americans with
sub-standard health insurance that does not provide adequate coverage or preventative
services, such as health screenings, regular check-ups and services for newborns and
prenatal care. Moreover, by homogenizing health insurance plans, the proposed health
insurance exchange will be even more effective at driving down premium costs by
allowing closer comparisons between different plan options.

Myth 3: The umpire is also the first baseman.

The main argument for a "public option" is that it would increase competition. However, if the
federal government creates a health care plan that it controls and also sets the rules for the
private plans, there is little doubt that Washington would put its private sector "competitors" out of
business sooner or later.

FACT: This fear is unfounded. The public plan option will introduce competition into areas
where only one or two providers have monopolized the insurance market. Such
competition can only serve to revitalize the health care market and force insurance
providers to provide affordable health coverage to consumers. If private sector
competitors are unable to compete, it will be because they have failed to meet the
demands of the American people for high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Myth 4: The fed picks your treatment.

President Obama said: "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them
healthier. ... If there's a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and

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works just as well, why not pay half for the thing that's going to make you well." Does that sound
like a government that will stay out of your health care decisions?

FACT: The President was talking about greater coordination of care and about the
increasingly added expense to Americans for disjointed and redundant health care
services. As with the myth above, the free market is designed to incentivize high quality,
affordable health coverage. If we provide opportunities for coordinated care, which would
reduce the number of doctors visits and testing that one must receive, and if we provide
incentives for the development of generic drug alternatives, which are just as effective as
the more expensive name-brand “red pills,” does the government really need to tell us
which way is better? As the President said, “If doctors and patients have the best
information about what works and what doesn't, then they're going to want to pay for what
works.”

Myth 5; Individual mandate means less liberty and more taxes.

Although he once opposed the idea, President Obama is now open to the imposition of an
individual mandate that would require all Americans to have federally approved health insurance.
This unprecedented federal directive not only takes away your individual freedom but could cost
you as well. Lawmakers are considering a penalty or tax for those who don't buy government-
approved health plans.

FACT: One of the greatest threats to individual liberty in America today is the threat of
illness, disease and preventable death. By mandating that everyone have and maintain
proper health coverage, we can stabilize and drive down the costs of health insurance,
which will make coverage more affordable of all Americans. This makes possible life and
the pursuit of happiness.

Myth 6: Higher taxes than Europe hurt small businesses.

A proposed surtax on the wealthy will actually hit hundreds of thousands of small business
owners who are dealing with a recession. If it is enacted, America's top earners and job creators
will carry a larger overall tax burden than France, Italy, Germany, Japan, etc., with a total average
tax rate greater than 52%. Is that the right recipe for jobs and wage growth?

FACT: Small business owners already carry an enormous burden, with some employers
unable to afford the rising cost of insurance premiums. The proposed legislation would
ease this burden by exempting 76 percent of small businesses from any shared
responsibility requirement and insulating 96 percent of small business owners from the
effects of any tax surcharge. Additionally, the Small Business Majority, an organization
dedicated to protecting the interests of small business owners, recently released a report
which highlighted the savings that would benefit small businesses under the proposed
health care legislation. Together with the health insurance exchange, these reforms will
help small firms’ bottom line, allowing them to focus more of their attention on running
their business and creating jobs.

Myth: Who makes medical decisions?

What is the right medical treatment and should bureaucrats determine what Americans can or
cannot have? While the House and Senate language is vague, amendments offered in House
and Senate committees to block government rationing of care were routinely defeated. Cost or a
federal health board could be the deciding factors. President Obama himself admitted this when

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he said, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller," when asked
about an elderly woman who needed a pacemaker.

FACT: There is already someone between you and your doctor. It’s called the private
insurance company, and they are not offering you the surgery or the painkiller. Private
health insurance companies place limits on the care they will cover, delaying or denying
care that you need when you need it most. Health care reform clamps down on these
insurance company abuses by making it impossible for insurance companies to deny or
rescind coverage due to a pre-existing condition or chronic illness. Health care reform will
also ensure that every health plan covers the services necessary to promote good health
and will fund research (that compares the effectiveness, benefits and risks of alternative
treatments) to help doctors and patients make better-informed treatment decisions.
Choices about your care will be left to you and your doctor.

Myth 8: Taxpayer-funded abortions. Nineteen Democrats recently asked the President to not
sign any bill that doesn't explicitly exclude "abortion from the scope of any government-defined or
subsidized health insurance plan" or any bill that allows a federal health board to "recommend
abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package." Currently,
these provisions do not exist.

FACT: Nothing in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage
— or any other type of medical procedure. Currently, private insurance companies make
their own decisions on whether or not abortion is a covered procedure. Current reform
efforts will continue in that vein and allow consumers to choose a plan that is in line with
their own principles.

Myth 9: It's not paid for.

The CBO says the current House plan would increase the deficit by $239 billion over 10 years.
And that number will likely continue to rise over the long term. Similar entitlement bills in the past,
including Medicare, have scored much lower than their actual eventual cost.

FACT: The CBO released estimates that H.R. 3200 is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget
window - and even produces a $6 billion surplus. CBO estimated more than $550 billion in
gross Medicare and Medicaid savings. More importantly, the bill includes a
comprehensive array of delivery reforms to set the stage for lowering the future growth in
health care costs, which while perhaps not “scoreable,” are considered by many to be
among the surest forms of cost containment in the legislation.

Myth 10: Rushing it, not reading it.

We've been down this road before--with the failed stimulus package. Back then, we also heard
that we were in a crisis and that we needed to pass a 1,000-plus-page bill in a few hours--without
reading it--or we would have 8% unemployment. Well, we know what happened. Now, one
Congressman has even said it's pointless to read one of the reform bills without two days and two
lawyers to make sense of it. Deception is the only reason to rush through a bill nobody truly
understands.

FACT: Health care reform is not a brand-new idea. Republicans and Democrats alike have
been trying to pass health reform care legislation for 90 years.

All of the major committees who have jurisdiction on health care in Congress have held
major hearings, town hall meetings and policy summits since 2007 that have informed the
recent national discussion on health care reform.

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And, with more than 44,000 people losing health coverage each week, the time to act is
now. While we wait, costs are increasing every day, leaving many people with stacks of
medical bills they cannot afford and businesses reducing or eliminating coverage. The
longer we wait to pass health reform, the higher these costs will climb. The longer we
wait, the more Americans who will die due to a lack of health insurance coverage and the
millions more who will be harmed by preventable medical errors and accidents.

Other myths being propagated

Myth 11: Health care reform will provide health insurance to illegal immigrants.

About 5.6 million illegal immigrants will be covered by health care reform bills. All non-US
citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free health care services.

FACT: Illegal immigrants are specifically excluded from coverage. Of course, this means
that they will continue to get their health care from expensive emergency rooms, which
has been a major contributor to rising health care costs.

According to H.R. 3200, Page 143, Line 3, Section 246: "No Federal Payment for
Undocumented Aliens. Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for
affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United
States."

Myth 12: A government-run plan will encourage seniors to choose an early death.

The government will force Medicare beneficiaries to decide how they want to die.

FACT: Health reform promotes healthier lives, not premature death. If an individual
chooses to do so, the proposed legislation will help him or her set up a “living will” that
will put him or her in the driver’s seat by letting him or her make the choices about
medical care that he or she wants. Counseling on these private issues will be offered to
seniors only if it is requested on a voluntary basis. It is important to remember that the
current reform movement is about improving choice, not forcing health care decisions.

Myth 13: Some people won't be covered.

Health care reform will leave certain populations out of insurance programs.

FACT: Except for illegal immigrants, all people will have the opportunity to be covered,
either via employer-provided plans or via the Health Insurance Exchange, which could
include a public plan option similar to Medicare, or a co-op approach similar to rural
electric arrangements that are owned by members. Those who opt out of coverage will be
required to pay a penalty, which will be deposited to the general fund maintained for the
public option. The penalty is intended to offset the cost of "adverse selection"; that is, the
cost associated with those who only choose to purchase insurance when a serious illness
arises. The more people we have with health coverage, the better the outcomes for
everyone.

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Myth 14: We will have long wait times for health care services if we end up with a public
option.

Americans will have to endure long waits to see primary care physicians and specialists under
government-run health care.

FACT: This is usually tied to an anecdotal report from Canada. The reality is that wait
times vary from area to area, as well as from service to service in Canada and Europe, but
the same may be said of United States. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement estimates
that Americans are waiting nearly 70 days to see a provider, and up to four weeks for life-
threatening conditions. New studies show that Americans wait far longer to receive basic
primary care than their European counterparts.

Myth 15: Health care reform protects health insurers due to deals that have been made.

Health care reform actually protects private insurance companies rather than regulating them.

FACT: The truth is that the group that is affected most adversely by health reform is the
insurance industry. The proposed legislation is full of new policies and programs that are
designed to keep insurers honest while protecting the American public by providing for
more affordable, high quality health care.