League Of American Voters Ad Oversimplifies Details To Scare Viewers
The League of American Voters has released a new ad seemingly based upon the new-ish Mac vs. PC commercials run by Apple. However, the creative minds at the LAV spent all their brain power on the ad's premise instead of focusing on finding substantive arguments to present.
"Hi, I'm Government Health Care"
LAV Ad, "Hi, I'm Government Health Care":
Man: Hi, I'm government health care.
Woman: And I'm Janey/Jamie. So, if I don't have insurance, Obama's gonna tax me 1,000 bucks?
Man: No, not a tax little lady, a fine.
Woman: 12% of my paycheck for insurance?
Man: Ah, yes. It's right here in black and white.
Woman: Taxing pacemakers and wheelchairs?
Man: You don't need one.
Woman: Yeah, well, my grandmother does. Cutting Medicare $400 billion?
Man: We're streamlining. The elderly are such a drain on the system.
On screen text:
Government Healthcare
Get all the numbers at genhope.com
PAID FOR BY THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN VOTERS [League of American Voters ad via Politico, 11/10/09]
Fine Keeps People From Buying Insurance At The Last Minute
Fine Is Meant To Ensure People Do Not Go Without Health Insurance Until They Are Sick. According to ABC News: "During an exclusive interview with ABC News' Jake Tapper today, President Obama said that penalties are appropriate for people who try to 'free ride' the health care system but stopped short of endorsing the threat of jail time for those who refuse to pay a fine for not having insurance... 'I think the general broad principle is simply that people who are paying for their health insurance aren't subsidizing folks who simply choose not to until they get sick and then suddenly they expect free health insurance. That's -- that's basic concept of responsibility that I think most Americans abide by,' Mr. Obama said, 'penalties are appropriate for people who try to free ride the system and force others to pay for their health insurance.'" [ABC News, 11/9/09, emphasis added]
The Additional Tax Only Applies To Those Who Can Afford, Yet Choose To Forgo, Health Insurance Coverage. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation letter written to Rep. Dave Camp:
[Joint Committee on Taxation, 11/5/09]
"Tax" On Wheelchairs And Pacemakers Is An Additional Fee On Large Corporations
Fee Would Be Levied Over 10 Years; House Bill Exempts Retails Items. According to the Wall Street Journal: "The Senate bill assembled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) is expected to levy a fee of between $15 billion and $20 billion over a decade on device makers, according to an individual familiar with the plan... The House version will be an excise tax imposed on the device at the point of sale. The tax would be set at a level that would yield a total of $20 billion between 2013 and 2019...Also, all retail products would be exempt from the tax under the House plan. The Senate Finance version would have exempted only retail products that sold for less than $100 per unit." [Wall Street Journal, 10/26/09, emphasis added]
Medicare Benefits Are Not On The Chopping Block
"None Of The 'Savings' Or 'Cuts' (Whichever You Prefer) Come From Reducing Current Or Future Benefit Levels For Seniors." According to FactCheck.org, "The House bill would trim projected increases in payments for hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and others, including home health care providers and suppliers of motor-driven wheelchairs. But it also proposes what CBO estimates is a $245 billion increase in spending for doctors, by canceling a scheduled 21 percent cut in physician payments. None of the 'savings' or 'cuts' (whichever you prefer) come from reducing current or future benefit levels for seniors." [FactCheck.org, accessed 9/9/09]
CBO: Cost Changes To Medicare Made From Savings. According to the CBO letter to Senator Baucus: "Changes to the Medicare program and changes to Medicaid and CHIP other than those associated directly with expanded insurance coverage: Savings from those provisions are estimated to total $93 billion in 2019, and CBO projects that, in combination, they will increase by 10 percent to 15 percent per year in the next decade." [CBO.gov, 10/7/09]
