FactCheck.org Bush Mischaracterizes Kerry’s Health Plan

Factcheck.org comes through again – nice job – to clear up the Bush ad on healthcare.

A Bush ad claims Kerry’s healthcare proposals would put "big government in charge" of medical decisions. In fact, Kerry’s plan would leave 97% with the insurance they have now — while up to 27 million who aren’t insured would gain coverage.
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In an earlier assessment of the Kerry plan, the nonpartisan Centrists.org found Kerry’s health proposal to be "similar in many ways to a blueprint offered in July by Senate Republican leader Bill Frist," and concluded that Kerry’s proposal tries to achieve “liberal goals" mostly through "conservative means.”
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The Bush ad gives Kerry’s plan a "1.5 trillion dollar price tag" and the figure is shown twice on screen during the ad. What the ad doesn’t say is that the figure covers a full 10 years, and that it’s the highest of three independent estimates issued so far. The figure comes from a study by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative, pro-business think tank in Washington.

But as we’ve previously reported, the Bush campaign originally quoted a study by Ken Thorpe of Emory University, who estimates the total cost of Kerry’s plan to be $653 billion over 10 years. A third study released later by The Lewin Group concluded that Kerry’s plan would cost about $1.25 trillion over 10 years.

The estimates all agree that Kerry’s ambitious and expensive plan would provide health coverage for a large portion of the 45 million who currently lack it. The American Enterprise Institute put the figure of those who would gain insurance at 24 million, the Lewin Group put it at 25 million and Thorpe is estimating 27 million.

See the article at factcheck.org – and while you’re there, see lots and lots of other articles.