- factcheck.org/2011/03/romneycare-facts-and-falsehoods/
- factcheck.org/2011/09/romneys-health-care-law-killed-jobs/
- factcheck.org/2011/10/factchecking-health-insurance-premiums/
- factcheck.org/2011/07/barrassos-subsidy-speculation/
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
March 25, 2011; July 22, 2011; Oct. 24, 2011; Sept. 27, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
These four articles are representative of Lori Robertson’s work throughout 2011 covering our health care beat. She fact-checked claims made by politicians and political groups about the federal and Massachusetts health care laws. Early last year, FactCheck.org sent Lori to Boston to dig into claims being made about the Massachusetts law, signed by Gov. Mitt Romney. We knew assertions about the legislation would really start flying as Romney emerged as a candidate, and we wanted to give our readers a solid grounding in the facts. The result of her reporting was a major 6,800-word piece on the law and the impact it had on the uninsured, premiums, access to care and more. Lori followed up on that with several more pieces on the Massachusetts law throughout 2011, including “Romney’s Health Care Law Killed Jobs?,” which explored a questionable claim from Texas Gov. Rick Perry that the law had “killed 18,000 jobs.” That number was an estimate from a conservative think tank, and it’s unknown whether or not it’s accurate. She interviewed several experts on the legitimacy of the number. Of course, much of her coverage centered on the federal health care law. We’ve submitted here a look at how the law had affected insurance premiums. Lori found that Republicans exaggerated when they blamed the law for a surprising 9 percent increase in employer-sponsored family plans. But the increase still undercut President Obama’s promise that the law “could save families $2,500 in the coming years.” Finally, many politicians spread false and misleading claims about these government overhaul efforts. One example is Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican and orthopedic surgeon, who stated wild speculation as fact, saying that subsidies for lower-income persons in the federal law would end up costing $900 billion a year. To come up with that figure, he assumed that all employer-based insurance in the country would disappear.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Lori examined the federal and Massachusetts laws themselves, government reports and analyses, watchdog groups’ findings, and independent reports.
Explain types of human sources used.
To fact-check claims made by politicians and political organizations, Lori asked them to back up their assertions and then dug into the support they presented. She also interviewed experts in health care, health care policy and economics. For the “Romneycare” piece, she traveled to Boston to interview sources in person.
Results:
It’s tough to quantify the impact of our articles. But we aim to help people see through the spin, and we hope to keep the political debate honest.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
There were no corrections or clarifications on these articles.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
One of our goals at FactCheck.org is to spark more fact-checking of politicians by journalists. Our advice: Be skeptical, ask politicians and others to back up their assertions, keep an open mind, and aggressively expose falsehoods.