The Republicans on the House Energy & Commerce Committee responsible for a part of the House negotiations over H.R. 3200 have issued a lengthy fact check document informing us where the president got his facts wrong during his healthcare speech last Wednesday night.

The ranking Republican on the committee is Rep. Joe Barton (R, TX).

Obama Says No Deficits, No Drain on Medicare, No Abortions, No Illegal Aliens…Oh, really?

What the president said:

“I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future.”

What the Democrats did:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 3200 will add $220 billion to the U.S. budget deficits over 10 years, and longer-term deficits are even more ominous. Under H.R. 3200, the tax increases and cuts to Medicare start almost immediately, but the vast majority of the spending does not start for four years. H.R. 3200 will increase the deficit by $65 billion in 2019 alone. A new report issued on September 9 by the Peterson Foundation found that H.R. 3200 would create an additional $1 trillion in deficit spending between 2020 and 2029.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president is a Democrat, and record-breaking federal budget deficits form a prominent, permanent part of the Democrats’ health care plan.

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What the president said:

“Not a dollar of the Medicare Trust Fund will be used to pay for this proposal.”

What the Democrats did: H.R. 3200 contains more than $400 billion in cuts to the Medicare program and those cuts are being used to finance this new proposal.

* Congressman Phil Gingrey’s amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee to ensure that any savings to the Medicare program resulting from the Medicare cuts would be used solely for the purpose of improving the access and affordability of health care for Medicare beneficiaries was defeated along party lines, with one Democrat voting in favor of the amendment.

Fact Check Conclusion: If the president and congressional Democrats persist with their pending bill, many dollars from the Medicare Trust Fund may be used to pay for the Obama health care program.

* * *

What the president said:

“If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or doctor you have.”

What the Democrats did:

The Lewin Group estimates that more than 80 million would lose their employer-sponsored health insurance under the House bill. Additionally, the $150 billion in cuts to the Medicare Advantage program would jeopardize coverage for millions of seniors.

* Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., offered an amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee that would have prevented the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program if it would lead to seniors losing access to their coverage. That amendment was defeated on a party line vote.

Under H.R.3200, veterans who currently receive health care through the VA could be forced to buy other insurance or face a 2.5 percent tax on their income.

* Congressman Buyer offered an amendment that would ensure that veterans could still be enrolled in the VA health care system and not be subject to the tax. That amendment was not supported by the Democrats but the amendment was withdrawn in order to work to fix this tax on those in the VA health system.

Under H.R. 3200, the new Health Care Choices Commissioner would have the power to eliminate Americans’ access to Health Savings Accounts.

* Rogers and Gingrey, R-Ga., offered an amendment that would protect people’s option to use Health Savings Accounts. That amendment was defeated along party lines with three Democrats voting to allow the continuation of Health Savings Accounts.

* Congressman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., offered an amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee that would have ensured that existing health plans could continue to provide coverage to its enrollees. That amendment was defeated along party lines, with three Democrats voting to allow people to keep their existing coverage.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president’s comforting words are unsupported by his party’s actions. Because congressional Democrats reject proposals to protect individual choice, the president’s speech constitutes the only thing that stands between his party’s health care legislation and you losing a doctor you like and insurance coverage you want to keep.

* * *

What the president said:

“The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

What the Democrats did:

H.R. 3200 states that “nothing in this subtitle shall allow for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.” However, the bill contains no provision where people would actually have to demonstrate whether they were here legally and would provide these federally subsidies without any verification.

* An amendment is pending at the Energy and Commerce Committee that will ensure illegal aliens are not able to obtain taxpayer funded benefits.

The bill significantly expands those eligible for the Medicaid program but does not require individuals to verify their citizenship.

* The Democrats rejected an amendment offered by Congressman Nathan Deal, R-Ga., that would have required people to verify their citizenship before being eligible for Medicaid. The amendment was rejected by one vote.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president’s statement has no force of law and is unsupported by any provision of his party’s bill. Consequently, nothing prevents illegal aliens from participating in the proposed government-run health care program because nothing requires them to demonstrate that they are U.S. citizens.

* * *

What the president said:

“Under our bill, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.”

What the Democrats did:

Under a Democratic amendment approved in the Energy and Commerce Committee, the secretary of Health and Human Service has the discretion to cover abortion in the new government run health plan if the current legislative rider known as the Hyde amendment remains in place. (The Hyde amendment states that Medicaid cannot pay for abortions.) If the Hyde amendment is not renewed, then the secretary of HHS would be required to cover abortion in the new government plan. Additionally, under the amendment, people could use federal subsidies to purchase insurance plans that pay for abortions. Under the House bill, the new Health Care Choices Commissioner could require all health plans to cover providers like Planned Parenthood.

* An amendment offered by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., would prohibit the federal government from mandating that any health insurance plan provide coverage for abortion (except in cases involving a danger to the mother’s life, rape, or incest). That amendment originally passed but through a procedural mechanism the majority was able to reconsider the amendment and it was defeated by one vote.

Link to second vote which defeated the Pitts amendment:

* An amendment offered by Michigan Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak and Republican Pitts would have prevented the Democrats’ health reform bill from allowing taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortions but that amendment failed by a vote of 31-27.

Fact Check Conclusion: Abortions are not disallowed, and each attempt to do what the president says already happened has been rejected by a majority of Democrats.