David Harlow’s “In like a lion” edition of the Health Wonk Review is full of great articles – be sure to head over and check it out. My favorites in this edition include posts from Joe Paduda, Wendell Potter and Maggie Mahar.
Joe gives us a great summary update of what’s going on with Obamacare. It’s a quick, easy read, but very informative. I like his description of states that are actively hindering ACA enrollment while at the same time criticizing the Obama Administration for low enrollment… but I’d take it a step further. It’s like blaming your mom for your low test scores after you not only didn’t study, but also purposely sabotaged your test by trying to fill in the little answer ovals so that they end up in the shape of a house. Unfortunately, the victims are the people who need health insurance and need subsidies or Medicaid in order to fit it into their budget. All of the legislators who are trying to hamper ACA enrollment already have pretty sweet health insurance for themselves and their families.
Wendell and Maggie both have their BS detectors turned on, giving us two great articles debunking quick, poorly-researched stories about the ACA. In both cases, they’re digging into mainstream media reports about the supposed difficulties that small businesses are facing under the ACA. In Wendell’s piece, it’s obvious that the three minute news segment he’s addressing left out a lot of details. And in Maggie’s case, the CBS reporters allowed a blatant mis-statement (the idea that rates on new plans can be higher for people with pre-existing conditions) to go unchallenged on a video that was aired to millions of viewers. And the correspondent seemed somewhat willing to defend the misinformation rather than correct it, which is unfortunate for viewers who might have come away from the original piece with a poor understanding of the consumer protections in the ACA. Maggie gives Dan Brown a run for his money when it comes to suspense… you have to read part two to find out the rest of the story, and it’s a doozy.
