Today Trump penned an op-ed filled with lies to try to cover up and distract from his own disastrous health care agenda. Here\u2019s the worst five:<\/p>\n
FACT: The Trump administration joined a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general aimed at striking down parts of the Affordable Care Act, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions.<\/p>\n
Associated Press Fact Check<\/a>:\u201cPresident Donald Trump isn\u2019t playing it straight when it comes to his campaign pledge not to undercut health coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Five weeks before midterm elections, he is telling voters that those provisions \u2018are safe,\u2019 even as his Justice Department is arguing in court that those protections in the Affordable Care Act should fall.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: The short-term junk insurance plans Trump is promoting do not guarantee coverage to people with pre-existing conditions<\/p>\n Associated Press Fact Check<\/a>: \u201cThe short-term health plans Trump often promotes as a bargain alternative to \u2018Obamacare\u2019 offer no guarantee of covering pre-existing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. TRUMP\u2019S LIE: \u201cI promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FACT: The CBO projected that Trump\u2019s association and short-term insurance plans will cause premiums to increase in the ACA individual market.<\/p>\n FactCheck.org<\/a>: \u201cThe nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects healthier individuals to join those association and short-term plans, which would then increase premiums for those remaining in the individual and small-group markets. CBO said in a May report that it expects premiums in those markets to increase by an estimated 2 percent to 3 percent \u2018in most years\u2019 due to these measures.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: Affordable Care Act premiums have stabilized because of how the law was designed, after Trump\u2019s sabotage caused premiums to spike last year.<\/p>\n Associated Press Fact Check<\/a>: \u201cExperts told AP the stabilizing costs are mainly due to the design of subsidies baked into former President Barack Obama\u2019s health care law and growing confidence among health insurers who\u2019ve learned to adapt to turbulence.\u201d<\/p>\n Associated Press Fact Check<\/a>: \u201cA major factor behind last year\u2019s spike in premiums was Trump\u2019s abrupt cancellation of a separate major stream of payments to insurers.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. TRUMP\u2019s LIE: \u201cI also made a solemn promise to our great seniors to protect Medicare. That is why I am fighting so hard against the Democrats\u2019 plan that would eviscerate Medicare.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FACT: The financial outlook for Medicare has worsened under Trump.<\/p>\n New York Times<\/a>: \u201cFirst, not only has Mr. Trump failed to strengthen Medicare and Social Security, the financial outlook for both trusts has largely worsened\u2026 In June, the government projected that Medicare funds would be depleted by 2026, three years earlier than estimated in 2017. The report noted that less money will flow into the fund because of low wages and lower taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: Democrats have staunchly defended Medicare, and none of the health care proposals from Democrats would reduce Medicare benefits.<\/p>\n PolitiFact<\/a>: \u201cDemocrats have staunchly defended Medicare for decades. The Democratic party platform calls Medicare \u2018an unbreakable commitment to American workers.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n New York Times<\/a>: \u201cNothing in \u2018Medicare for all\u2019 bills in the Senate or the House would reduce benefits or cut dollars from the program; in fact, current beneficiaries would receive more coverage for lower costs.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. TRUMP\u2019S LIE: \u201cDemocrats have already harmed seniors by slashing Medicare by more than $800 billion over 10 years to pay for Obamacare.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: The Affordable Care Act bent the Medicare cost curve while expanding coverage for beneficiaries.<\/p>\n Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cThe ACA cut long-term Medicare spending at least $700 billion \u2014 by cutting payments to providers while expanding coverage for recipients.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: Trump has proposed billions of dollars in Medicare cuts.<\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cThe document says that the budget will propose cutting spending on Medicare, the health program for the elderly and disabled, by $237 billion but doesn\u2019t specify other mandatory programs that would face reductions, a category that also includes Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, welfare and agricultural subsidies.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. TRUMP\u2019S LIE: \u201cRepublicans believe that a Medicare program that was created for seniors and paid for by seniors their entire lives should always be protected and preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: Congressional Republicans\u2019 2019 budget proposed huge cuts to Medicare.<\/p>\n The Hill<\/a>: \u201cHouse Republicans offered a budget proposal on Tuesday that would cut mandatory spending by $5.4 trillion over a decade, including $537 billion in cuts to Medicare and $1.5 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other health programs.\u201d<\/p>\n FACT: Republicans plan to cut Medicare in order to reduce the massive deficit created by Trump\u2019s tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n