The 2014 midterms were already awash in ads about the Affordable Care Act in early April. Most of the advertising was negative, with many false and misleading messages. In this series of articles, we sought to set the record straight for voters who were bombarded by the relentless volume of ads. The ACA had been the focus of political advertising for several years: $500 million had been spent on such advertising from 2009 through mid-2013. But the Campaign Media Analysis Group expected that another half a billion dollars would be spent by late March 2015. We culled through the ads, from both congressional candidates and outside groups like Americans for Prosperity, and found that many fit into four categories of misleading messaging: claims about “millions” losing insurance, premiums “skyrocketing,” families “hurting,” and the ACA being a government takeover of health care. We fact-checked each category of claims in a series of pieces we called “Party Lines,” a feature on common, misleading talking points. For instance, Americans for Prosperity claimed in several ads that “millions” of people had lost their health insurance under the ACA. That was a reference to individual market plans that were discontinued — but people were offered alternative policies, not denied coverage. We laid out the evidence that then showed far more had gained coverage under the law than had their policies canceled. As for “skyrocketing” premiums, another common claim, we found premiums for employer-sponsored insurance had been growing at historically low rates in recent years. Those on the individual market would see their premiums go up or down, perhaps significantly in some cases, depending on various individual circumstances. We explained why. The general claim that the ACA was “hurting” families ignored the fact that millions of uninsured families would gain health care coverage under the law, many through free or low-cost Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage. And finally, we found the years-old “government-run” health care claim was still alive and well in a few congressional races. We explained that the law doesn’t create a government-run system but instead boosts both Medicaid and business for private insurers while leaving the work-based system most Americans use intact.
