The Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal blog has an important article by Scott Harrington that addresses the insurance industry practice of rescission:

. . . the president’s examples of people “dropped” by their insurance companies involve the rescission of policies based on misrepresentation or concealment of information in applications for coverage. Private health insurance cannot function if people buy insurance only after they become seriously ill, or if they knowingly conceal health conditions that might affect their policy.

I found the President’s example of a woman dropped because she didn’t reveal a case of “acne” was incomplete at best; and an outright lie by omission at worst.

Harrington tackles the other patient described as a victim of rescission:

To highlight abusive practices, Mr. Obama referred to an Illinois man who “lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found he hadn’t reported gallstones that he didn’t even know about.” The president continued: “They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.”

Although the president has used this example previously, his conclusion is contradicted by the transcript of a June 16 hearing on industry practices before the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigation of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The deceased’s sister testified that the insurer reinstated her brother’s coverage following intervention by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. She testified that her brother received a prescribed stem-cell transplant within the desired three- to four-week “window of opportunity” from “one of the most renowned doctors in the whole world on the specific routine,” that the procedure “was extremely successful,” and that “it extended his life nearly three and a half years.”

Rep. Joe Wilson may have violated House rules in regards to his outburst “You lie!” during the speech. I’m sure the good members were all horrified. Because, when someone at the lectern is lying so prolifically, the proper thing to do is to be respectful.

But every Republican should be pointing out the depth of President Obama’s lies and mis-truths, exaggerations and omissions.

Comments are closed