Reality Check: The Truth About The Health Care Ruling
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- President Barack Obama hailed the ruling as a "victory for the American people," taking credit for the individual mandate he once opposed, asserting that health coverage for millions is now more stable.
"If you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance," President Obama said. "This law will only make it more secure and more affordable."
That's a guarantee President Obama might not be able to make.
It's true that millions of more Americans will now have access to insurance coverage.
But the Congressional Budget Office and other credible groups estimate some could lose insurance if employers find it too expensive.
The good news for President Obama -- the Supreme Court said the health care law is constitutional because the individual mandate is a tax that Congress can impose.
The bad news -- it's a tax.
Mitt Romney noted $500 billion in health care tax hikes.
That's mostly true.
But he excluded subsidies or other benefits that could offset that number.
And if elected, Romney promised immediate repeal.
Something he can't deliver.
"What the court did not do on the last day is something that I will do on my first day in office if I am elected president of the United States," Romney said.
That's misleading.
No president can repeal a law without Congress, in this case, a Republican House and Senate.
And Romney went too far on Medicare:
"Obamacare cuts Medicare by $500 billion," he said.
False.
It does not cut Medicare. It slows down its growth by cutting fees to doctors and hospitals.
A goal both parties support.
That's Reality Check.
Sources used for Reality Check:
