PoliGraph: AAN Nolan ad mostly accurate
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If a recent special election in Florida tells us anything, the health care policy will be front and center in the 2014 elections.
Republicans won a Florida congressional seat in part by hammering the Democratic candidate on the Affordable Care Act. The same themes are already playing out in Minnesota.
Take a recent ad paid for by the American Action Network, a conservative group spearheaded by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman. The ad is running in the 8
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Congressional District, which is represented by democrat Rick Nolan.
It centers on cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, which are offered by private companies approved by Medicare. Messages about the program are meant to resonate with elderly voters, who tend to show up on Election Day.
“For the second year in a row, the Obama administration has proposed deep rate cuts to the Medicare Advantage seniors rely on. Call Rep. Nolan and tell him to fight the President’s April 7th Medicare Advantage cuts,” the ad states.
Meanwhile, flashing across the screen is this statement:
“Rick Nolan voted against repealing Obamacare.”
There’s a lot of pick apart in this ad, but overall, it’s correct.
The Evidence
In February, the Obama administration proposed cutting payments to insurers who participate in the Medicare Advantage program. Those changes are due to kick in on April 7, after the administration and insurers negotiate a final deal.
The administration made a similar proposal last year, but backed-off the plan after an intense lobbying effort.
There are also cuts to the program included in the Affordable Care Act. The law reduces government spending on the Advantage plans by roughly $200 billion, in part to finance other parts of the law that expand health insurance to other people.
The reason for those cuts? Government spending on people enrolled in Medicare Advantage has been significantly higher than on those not enrolled in the program. In fact, a recent Government Accountability Office report found that payments between 2010 and 2012 were in excess of $3.2 billion.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predict that enrollment in the program will decline as a result of pay cuts included in the Affordable Care Act because insurance companies will likely charge more for their coverage or scale back benefits. (However, health policy experts dispute how dramatic changes to the program have been and will be.)
Nolan wasn’t in office when the health care law initially passed, but he has voted against repealing the law, which would reverse payment cuts, since he was sworn in last year
Of course, this ad leaves out a key point: Nolan opposes the administration’s most recent round of Medicare Advantage cuts. Here’s an excerpt from a letter he wrote the administration regarding its proposal:
“Medicare Advantage serves my constituents well, particularly those with high rates of chronic disease,” Nolan wrote. “I believe that the cuts in the Advance Notice are inconsistent with our health care policy goals to promote more high quality, coordinated care for Medicare beneficiaries… I urge you to keep the 2015 MA payments rate stable at 2014 levels because the proposed cuts will jeopardize beneficiary access to the high quality care these plans provide.”
The Verdict
The American Action Network’s ad gets its facts right. But it may leave the false impression that Nolan supports cuts to Medicare Advantage. He does not.
Overall, this ad leans toward Accurate.
ADDITONAL SOURCES
The Washington Post, Doctors cut from Medicare Advantage networks struggle with what to tell patients, Jan 25, 2014
Emily Davis, spokesperson, American Action Network
Steve Johnson, spokesperson, Rep. Rick Nolan