Dancing with the Truth at the Health Care Summit

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Tired of the rhetoric? The half-truths? The distorted facts? After yesterday's seven-hour health care summit and accompanying peanut gallery of partisan fact-checkers, you might be. This morning Politico offers its readers a rundown of its favorite fabrications and exaggerations from the summit.
 
Here is a sampling:
 
-Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) attacks the Democrats for cutting Medicare, and says millions of seniors will lose their coverage.
 
Says Politico:
 
Not quite.
 
According to health policy experts, it’s fair to say that if the Democrats have their way, the benefits provided by Medicare Advantage will be reduced — which means that a number of seniors might choose not to enroll in the program in the future. That doesn’t mean people are going to “lose” their plans, exactly — just that fewer are likely to enroll. Seniors would still be guaranteed their traditional Medicare benefits.
 
-Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) says millions of Americans will see premium hikes. Yikes! But, again, this is only a half-truth.
 
Says Politico:
 
He’s technically right — but he’s cherry-picking. Alexander was talking about only 17 percent of those with insurance in 2016. For the other tens of millions with insurance, their premiums would stay flat or decline, according to the CBO.

 
(Photo credit: Pete Souza)