The Propaganda Campaign Continues…
The Administration launched its www.heallthcare.gov web portal overnight (Motto: “Take health care into your own hands.”) In reality though the website’s address implies the reality of the law – a government takeover of health care. And, as might be expected, the website takes visitors right into an alternative reality of the health care law, constructed by political operatives within the Administration. Some observations based on my preliminary review of the site this morning:
- As of about 7:30 AM, the portal has 113 references to “tax.” However, the only references to tax increases are those included in a PDF of the law itself (which of course, you would have to read 2,700 pages of bill text to get to). NONE of the web pages mention the more than $500 billion in tax increases needed to pay for the law – although they do heavily advertise the $40 billion small business tax credit. This is particularly ironic given that the first tax increase in the law – that on tanning services – takes effect today. (No word yet on whether the RPC will be opening its balcony to allow health staff to sunbathe tax-free.)
- Even though the website contains no references to the massive tax increases in the law, it includes a web page dedicated to “Health Reform for LGBT Americans.” (I guess when it comes to the health care law’s tax increases, the Administration’s response is “Don’t ask, don’t tell…”)
- A timeline on the web portal – which also, ironically enough, doesn’t include any references to when the many tax increases take effect – also lists 2011 as the date when the law starts “addressing overpayments to big insurance companies” – a pejorative term consistent with the Administration’s vilification campaign against insurers, but also an inaccurate one, as the Medicare Advantage cuts affect all plans equally, and don’t target “big” companies compared to small ones.
- There are more false, misleading, and inaccurate claims about the law. For instance, one page notes that “Not a penny of Medicare taxes or trust funds will be used for health reform.” Of course, the Administration’s own actuaries have admitted that “in practice, the [Medicare savings provisions] cannot be simultaneously used to finance other Federal outlays (such as the coverage expansions under the PPACA) and to extend the [Medicare] trust fund.” (Interesting question to ask: Did the Medicare actuaries review the website for accuracy before its launch – or was the website instead managed by political appointees hired to run a “messaging strategy…in advance of the 2010 midterm elections?”)
Given that President Obama frequently complained about “misinformation” throughout the health care debate, it’s interesting the extent to which the website relies on a one-sided approach to try and “sell” the health care law to the American people. If the Administration can’t tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about its own law, how good can it really be?