A new pseudo-study by Families USA and timed beat the Supreme Court to the punch, finds that over 26,000 Americans die as a result of not having health insurance. But is it true? Turns out its a fabrication.
The fact checkers at Forbes looked into it and the "bad data" that Families USA used to generate the sensational headlines is nearly 20 years old. It's true. Don't believe me? Look up the methodology on the "DYING FOR COVERAGE: The Deadly Consequences of Being Uninsured" report on the Families USA website. Families USA is claiming their pseudo-study has the same pedigree as the IOM report, but differences exist.
The Families USA "estimate" is as grounded in the real world as an estimate of ZERO patient deaths or a billion patient deaths. An estimate based on nothing is worth nothing - but nothing will get you sensational media headlines. And Families USA is definitely trying to get headlines. The group issued numerous press releases in States with key elections (namely, races where Democratic candidates who favored the Accountable Care Act, but are running very poorly in the polls).
In the press releases issued by Families USA, their leader Ron Pollack noted: “The Affordable Care Act lets us wake up from this terrible health care nightmare of premature death. Wiping out health reform means the nightmare will continue for [insert state name] and other Americans.” It's everything we've come to expect from a Ron Pollack initiative - lots of unsubstantiated claims and half-truths, and heavy on the partisan rhetoric.
In other words, this is a meaningless estimate made for political purposes by a partisan organization who backed a piece of legislation that the majority of Americans detest and they needed to fabricate a "study" to try and back it. And that basically sums up Families USA.
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