As the news reports mount of millions of Americans losing their health insurance, White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz is still confidently asserting that nobody is going to be forced out of his or her health insurance plan because of the inaptly-named “Affordable Care Act.”
Of course, Schultz didn’t say anything about the fact that the law makes certain types of health insurance policies illegal. So, yeah, one can argue that nobody is technically “forced out” of a policy by the ACA. It’s just that the ACA makes it unlawful for companies to offer various types of health insurance — so those plans disappear into thin air and there’s nothing left to be forced out of. Aren’t semantic games fun?
https://twitter.com/BrianTolbert91/status/394974732321181696
@Schultz44 @kiptew ACA definitely forced insurance companies to eliminate plans thereby forcing people out of plans
— Kevin M. Hill (@Khill33) October 28, 2013
Which ACA forces some of them to do “@Schultz44: No change is required unless ins companies change their existing plan”
— Steve Goldstein (@MKTWgoldstein) October 28, 2013
@Schultz44 @WhiteHouse So are u saying that plans that don't meet ACA requirements can be kept with no fine?
— MissPoo (@misspoo4ever) October 28, 2013
https://twitter.com/jonessince1970/status/394973059485925376
@Schultz44 @KimmyABGibbler That is a DAMN LIE! Companies are dropping their plans because of affordability!
— Pirate (@PIRATE1775) October 28, 2013
@Schultz44 @WhiteHouse I see that the most transparent admin in history just puts lies out there without coming back to defend them
— The Vocal Vets (@TheVocalVets) October 28, 2013
@Schultz44 @WhiteHouse But, if the law makes the insurance company change the plan, isn't that being forced to change?
— Jon Grundy (@HurricanesCity) October 28, 2013
Right. All those cancellation notices are fake. RT @Schultz44: Don't be fooled. Nothing in the ACA forces people out of their plans.
— Vader Herder (@vaderherder) October 28, 2013
@Schultz44 @WhiteHouse if ACA forces change to the ins company….. then ACA forced the change. intellectual failure from the left.
— docwhocuts (@docwhocuts) October 28, 2013
Not only is Schultz a shameless liar, he’s also a bad speller:
@Schultz44 Sorry, while laughing at your tweet, I noted the typo…"FOOOLED", as in "FOOOL me w/3 o's, shame on you"…
— Lady Goodman (@LadyGoodman3) October 28, 2013
Extra points to Tim Miller for the Baghdad Bob reference:
"There are no Americans in Baghdad!" –@Schultz44 https://t.co/jjSsxCxfZx
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 28, 2013
We were going to do that one ourselves but he saved us the time.
Update: Schultz isn’t backing down:
For reference, @PolitiFact already looked at the claim that people would lose coverage – found it to be mostly false. http://t.co/Q6hNzKK4EB
— E. Schultz -Archived (@Schultz44) October 29, 2013
Note the subtle shift in Schultz’s argument. He started off claiming that no one will be forced out of his or her health policy because of the ACA. Now he’s citing a PolitiFact article that claims many of the people who will lose coverage due to the ACA will be able to enroll in new policies.
By the way, PolitiFact’s track record on this issue is not exactly stellar.
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