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by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
News Editor
Health care seems to be the most widely talked about subject in the news currently. In my ever-depressing habit of following the crowd to fit in, I’ve decided to weigh in on it. I admittedly don’t know too much about health care, but from what I’ve heard it’s also popular to shout about things you don’t understand.
Luckily, factcheck.org has just released a rebuke of 26 popular health care myths used by the dissenting side, and many of them are ridiculous. Factcheck.org examined a popular chain e-mail, which contains 48 claims about the healthcare reform bill. Twenty-six of them have proved false, and only four are completely true.
According to
right-wing bloggers and activists, gems such as government-mandated
marriage counseling, national identification health cards, healthcare
for illegal aliens and mandated circumcision are hidden in the bill.
Government-mandated
marriage counseling is not actually mandated by the reform, but is
available and completely voluntary. The idea of the government forcing
couples to undergo marriage counseling is awesome. Just imagine John
Edwards or Rod Blogojevich as your therapist and I think you would
shudder away from the idea as well. In any case, factcheck.org reported
this false.
The
national identification health card, like the death panel, is a great
example of something that does not exist in the bill at all. The
closest it comes to suggesting a card is on page 58, where it suggests
electronic medical transactions may require machine-readable healthcare
beneficiary identification cards. Everyone who has health insurance
reach into their wallets and tell me if they have a card.
Which
brings us to the exciting topic of giving illegal immigrants health
care. Like the national identification card, nothing in the bill
suggests it exists. Page 143 states: “Nothing in this subtitle shall
allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of
individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.” On page
50, the bill states healthcare will be provided to all individuals
without regard to personal characteristics. To me, this suggests race,
sex, etc., but maybe I’m being the ignorant one. Apparently, for the
naysayers, having a different color skin implicates you as an illegal
immigrant.
Finally,
my personal favorite “fact.” Rush Limbaugh claimed Aug. 24, “Obama
wants to mandate circumcision.” That snippy little detail was
apparently pulled from nowhere, as politifact.com has scoured Obama’s
voting record and found nothing.
They also searched “circumcision” on the White House Web site and came up empty handed.
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Rush never claimed Obamacare included circumcision, but that the CDC (under the Obama Admin) was looking into its viability. Shortly after, it was widely reported that circumcision does not prevent HIV/AIDS transmission in any way. Too bad as such an enlightened lefty you can't pick up on sarcasm. Rush's 'save the penises' was in jest. Grow up.
In your lefty article, you blow off death panels yet thats exactly what will happen when a goverment body has control of costs and in order to contain them (because you know how well the gov't controls costs) will implement cost-benefit analysis. Obama continues to stress how much the elderly cost healthcare and how those costs will have to be curtailed meaning healthcare rationing. Sorry Grandma, but The One says you have to die.
Factcheck.org is a joke. And so is your ability to analyze.
As for illegal aliens obtaining insurance, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that the Dear Leader will make it happen. And legally in the US does not disclude those visitors who are hear on visas. Should US taxpayers be funding foreigners healthcare while on US soil?