Miner Queries: Braley’s record flier: What’s really disturbing?

 As I’ve mentioned previously, both my husband and I had our party affiliation mysteriously changed in the past five years.  As disturbing as that is, I’ve discovered one benefit. Occasionally we receive Republican campaign literature, which helps me understand how so many people can be so uninformed about public policy.  

The most recent example is a 9X12 flier paid for by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce. According to this organization’s web site, their mission is “defending entrepreneurs and innovators.” Yet their board of directors includes former conservative legislators and Koch Industries alumni, hardly what I’d call innovators or small business entrepreneurs. 

And according to the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch site: “It has been described as ‘the Koch brothers’ secret bank.’”

Then SourceWatch goes on to debunk a Freedom Partners-financed television ad attacking Bruce Braley, from which the flier appears to have been taken:  “The ad claims that Braley took ‘tens of thousands from his friends in the health insurance industry’ and gave them ‘special favors’ by voting for Obamacare. PolitiFact determined that Braley has received ‘$20,500 from health insurance sources...about $2,000 for every year he’s served in Congress’ and total ‘insurance donations account for less than 1 percent of all the cash Braley has raised during his political career.’’’ 

Additionally, the flier promotes falsehoods about Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as it is more accurately called. “First, health insurance companies lobbied for Obamacare.” 

No. As the work of Wendell Potter, a former Cigna executive reveals, the health insurance industry has lobbied against any type of health care/insurance reform for decades because reform means regulation. And that’s what ACA is – regulation to protect consumers from bankruptcy in the event of a medical emergency.  However, once passage became inevitable, insurers got on board to broker the best deal they could. 

The flier also states, “now health insurance companies stand to make billions from Obamacare.” Well of course with millions more people purchasing insurance, they will make money.  But under ACA regulations, at least 80 percent of every premium dollar must go to pay for medical care, not profits or overhead. 

But my favorite weasel words on the flier follow:  “And Iowans? It’s canceled policies and higher costs.” First a lie and then the truth.

The lie is that ACA cance\led policies. Insurance companies discontinued high-profit, low benefit policies they could have adjusted earlier to comply with ACA.  Instead, insurers issued them for as long as they could. Most canceled policies would have left the customers in financial ruin had a medical emergency transpired.

The truth is ACA canceled higher costs for people persistent enough to get insurance through the ACA exchange. And ACA is lowering costs for all by requiring insurance to cover annual preventative check-ups with no deductible. Also, insurance premium increases for all are projected to be lower than in previous years.

Freedom Partners probably didn’t mean to share the truth; it just may be poor writing.  Many people won’t catch it.

But if you don’t find the twisted content of this flier disturbing, you’re not interested in facts.  Instead, you’re being manipulated to support the interests of a few very wealthy people. 

Maybe that’s why government’s not workin’ for you.

Cherie Miner is a local parent, community volunteer, freelance writer and artist. In a former life, she was a corporate writer and public relations professional. Contact her at news@redoakexpress.com or on Facebook.