2020 FactCheck: on Health Care

Martha McSally: Require covering pre-existing conditions, but no funding

Donald Trump: FactCheck: No massive prices cuts for prescription drugs

FactCheck by Associated Press, Aug. 3, 2020: Actually, no massive, across-the-board cuts are in the offing for drug prices. Efforts announced last month by the president--such as allowing importation of medicines from countries where prices are lower--take time to roll out. It remains to be seen how much they'll move the needle on prices. Drug importation, for example, requires regulatory actions to be taken and supply chains to be established.

Donald Trump: FactCheck: experts changed on use of masks as facts emerged

TRUMP: They've also said the opposite.

BIDEN: No serious person has said the opposite.

TRUMP: Dr. Fauci said the opposite.

BIDEN: He did not say the opposite.

TRUMP: He said very strongly, "Masks are not good." Then he changed his mind. He said, "Masks are good."

FactCheck by Associated Press, Sept. 30: Early on in the outbreak, a number of public health officials urged everyday people not to use masks, fearing a run on already short supplies of personal protective equipment needed by doctors and nurses in hospitals. But that changed as the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus became clear, as well as the fact that it can be spread by tiny droplets breathed into the air by people who may not display any symptoms.

Donald Trump: FactCheck: No, America has tested less than Europe combined

• Counting countries in Europe with over a million population, just the top ten have conducted more tests than the U.S. with about the same population:
• In order of testing frequency: Denmark, Russia, UK, Lithuania, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Belarus, and Italy, total population ~360 million).
• As of Sept. 2020, the U.S. has conducted 85 million tests (about 25% of the population); those ten countries combined exceeded that number, without counting the dozens of other European countries.
• Counting tests per million population also puts America in the second tier: Denmark's testing rate exceeds 40% of their population, and some smaller countries, such as Luxembourg, exceed 100%, which means every person has been tested more than once.
  Source: OnTheIssues Fact-check on 2020 Convention speech Sep 5, 2020

  Donald Trump: FactCheck: Coronavirus testing has missed 90% of cases

  Trump said, "We developed, from scratch, the largest and most advanced testing system in the world. America has tested more than every country in Europe put together, and more than every nation in the Western Hemisphere combined."

  FactCheck: Testing in the US has been less than successful and has never reached levels that satisfy public health experts. After getting off the ground slowly and late, CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield, admits the US has missed 90% of coronavirus cases with its testing efforts.

  Trump said the US has "developed a wide array of effective treatments, including a powerful anti-body treatment known as convalescent plasma that will save thousands of lives"

  FactCheck: The US has not yet developed a single new treatment for coronavirus. The only treatments that have been shown to work against coronavirus are old treatments - dexamethasone, remdesivir, blood thinners and convalescent plasma, a 100-year-old last-ditch treatment.

  Source: CNN Fact-Check on 2020 Republican Convention speech Aug 28, 2020

  Donald Trump: FactCheck: Undercut protection for preexisting conditions

  Trump again pledged that he and the entire Republican Party "will always, and very strongly, protect patients with preexisting conditions."

  FactCheck: His administration has consistently taken steps to undermine the Affordable Care Act without presenting alternative plans that would offer similar benefits. Congressional Republicans have also repeatedly put forward bills and filed lawsuits that would weaken Obamacare's protections for people with preexisting conditions.

  Trump said, "Last month, I took on Big Pharma and signed orders that will massively lower the cost of your prescription drugs," and also promised to "further reduce the cost of prescription drugs."

  FactCheck: The President signed four executive orders aimed at reducing drug prices, but it's far from clear whether they will ever take effect or greatly lower prices if they do. Also, drug prices have continued to rise during the Trump administration, though the growth rate has slowed by some measures.

  Source: CNN Fact-Check on 2020 Republican Convention speech Aug 28, 2020

  Barack Obama: 2014: Africa travel ban to battle Ebola outbreak

  When the global medical community was responding to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Trump was one of the most prominent US figures wrongly disputing scientific consensus about the virus and sowing disinformation. On October 2, 2014, Trump tweeted that "Ebola is much easier to transmit than the CDC and government representatives are admitting. Spreading all over Africa-and fast. Stop flights."

  In an October 6, 2014 appearance on Fox & Friends, a clip of Fauci was played, expressing his opposition to closing travel with West Africa. "Well, I think it's ridiculous," Trump said. "But as far as you know, giving supplies and providing medical supplies, I'm all for that. And even if doctors want to go there and help, I think I'm all for that too. But you know, they do have to suffer consequences."

  Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 Trump Administration May 30, 2020

  Donald Trump: 1993: Falsely claimed you may get AIDS from kissing

  Trump's long history of spreading medical misinformation about disease outbreaks stretches back as far as 1993 during the HIV/AIDS crisis. While discussing his sex life on an episode of The Howard Stern Show, Trump said, "I saw a report the other day, you may get AIDS by kissing." In one syndicated column from December 1992, Fauci carefully noted it was "extraordinarily unlikely" that healthy individuals can transmit the disease through kissing. Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 Trump Administration May 30, 2020

  Rush Limbaugh: We've never shut down for illness before; it's political

  [On coronavirus pandemic]: "We don't shut down for illness ever! We never have shut down for illness before. We've never shut down for mass death. We've never done it before. We've never shut down on the projection of mass death. We've never done it before. I know that the Democrat Party wants to deep this shutdown for as long as they can as a political objective. They know how damaging this is to the president."

  [FactCheck: History.com on 1918 flu pandemic]: Hospitals in some areas were so overloaded with flu patients that schools, private homes and other buildings had to be converted into makeshift hospitals, some of which were staffed by medical students. Officials in some communities imposed quarantines, ordered citizens to wear masks and shut down public places, including schools, churches and theaters. People were advised to avoid shaking hands and to stay indoors, libraries put a halt on lending books and regulations were passed banning spitting.

  Source: RealClearPolitics & History.com FactCheck on 2020 pandemic Apr 15, 2020

  Mike Bloomberg: 2011: We're going to cut back Medicaid and Medicare

  In January 2011, Bloomberg argued we'd have to do something about Medicare and Medicaid.

  "When you listen to them talk at a federal level, 'I'm going to cut the deficit.' You know, every new group that comes through--keep in mind 2/3 of the federal budget is entitlements and debt service. Debt Service legally, you can't touch, entitlements means seniors. We're going to cut back Medicaid and Medicare, we're going to have to do something, but that's going to be a very tough lift," Bloomberg said.

  Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 presidential hopefuls Feb 26, 2020

  Bernie Sanders: FactCheck: US pays twice OECD average, but not every country

  Citing high health care costs, Sanders said, "We are spending twice as much per capita on health care as do the people of any other country." He has made some version of this claim since at least 2015. It's still not true.

  According to the most recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, which is for 2018, US per capita spending on health care totaled $10,586. That's twice as much as every country, except for six. Sanders is correct that the U.S. spends a lot more than other nations. It spends more than double the $3,992 average for OECD countries ["OECD counties" means "the developed world," excluding developing countries -- ed.]. But Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Denmark all pay a little more than half of what the U.S. does.

  Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate Feb 8, 2020

  Pete Buttigieg: 2018: Medicare-for-All; 2020: only for those who want it

  Sen. Amy Klobuchar accused Buttigieg of flip-flopping on support for Medicare for All, citing a 2018 tweet in which Buttigieg said he supported it "indubitably" and "affirmatively." Buttigieg does not support the Medicare for All plan proposed by Sanders, but Buttigieg maintains that his plan to offer Medicare as an option in the Affordable Care Act exchanges would put the U.S. on a "glide path" that leads to "a Medicare for All environment."

  At the time, Buttigieg was the mayor of South Bend, and not yet a candidate for president. As a candidate, Buttigieg has proposed a more centrist health care proposal than some Democrats. He does not support the Medicare for All plan proposed by Sanders, which would expand Medicare and create a new universal, single-payer health care system in the United States. Rather, Buttigieg is proposing what he calls "Medicare for All Who Want It." It would essentially allow people to buy into Medicare through the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

  Source: FactCheck.org on 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate Feb 8, 2020

  Donald Trump: Fact-Check: 4,311 drugs had price hike; 619 were lowered

  President Trump said, "We have approved a record number of affordable generic drugs, and medicines are being approved by the FDA at a faster clip than ever before. I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down. I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay."

  Fact -Check: In 2019, 4,311 prescription drugs experienced a price hike, with the average increase hovering around 21%, according to data compiled by Rx Savings Solutions, a consulting group. Meanwhile, 619 drugs had price dips. And already in 2020, 2,519 drugs have increased prices. The average hike so far this year is 6.9%. Meanwhile, the prices of 70 drugs have dropped. When generics post their price increases, the 2020 average price hike will likely go up.

  Source: PolitiFact Fact-Check on 2020 State of the Union address Feb 5, 2020

  Donald Trump: Executive order requiring healthcare price transparency

  President Trump said, "The American patient should never be blindsided by medical bills. That is why I signed an Executive Order requiring price transparency. Many experts believe that transparency, which will go into full effect at the beginning of next year, will be even bigger than healthcare reform. It will save families massive amounts of money for substantially better care."

  Fact -Check: It's not clear where this timeline comes from--the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule for hospitals and a similar rule for insurers that would require them to reveal their negotiated prices to consumers in an accessible way. But hospitals have already sued to block the first rule, and the rule for insurers has not been finalized. New practices can take effect only after these legal hurdles have been resolved.

  Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2020 State of the Union address Feb 4, 2020

  The above quotations are from Fact-checking on 2020 Presidential, Gubernatorial, and Senatorial campaigns. Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Health Care. Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Health Care.
  2020 Presidential contenders on Health Care:
  	Democrats running for President: Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO) V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE) Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC) Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT) Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN) Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ) Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX) Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI) Rep.John Delaney (D-MD) Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA) Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT) CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA) Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Marianne Williamson (D-CA) CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY) 2020 Third Party Candidates: Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI) CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV) Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI) Howie Hawkins (G-NY) Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM) Howard Schultz(I-WA) Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)	Republicans running for President: Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX) Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD) Gov.John Kasich(R-OH) V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN) Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC) Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY) Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL) Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY) 2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates: Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA) Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC) Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK) Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA) Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO) Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA) Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL) Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA) Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX) Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA) Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA) Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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  Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021