During his daily coronavirus press briefing on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence told a blatant lie about insurance covering the full cost of tests for the virus, and was quickly called out by a health reporter for the New York Times.
Specifically, Pence asserted that the Department of Health and Human Services had designated coronavirus tests as an “essential health benefit” and were therefore required to be covered by all private health insurance plans, Medicare, and Medicaid.
But as Margot Sanger-Katz of the Times noted, “That doesn’t make sense.” And she then carefully destroyed Pence’s statements point by point on Twitter:
Vice President Mike Pence said several times today that HHS has designated coronavirus tests as an “essential health benefit,” subject to full coverage by private plans, Medicare and Medicaid. That doesn’t make sense.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 4, 2020
“Essential health benefits” were established as part of Obamacare. They apply to a small slice of private health insurance plans, not all the programs he mentioned. EHBs have nothing to do with Medicare or Medicaid.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
The part of the law governing EHBs is silent about cost-sharing. “Essential” benefits are routinely subject to deductibles and cost sharing, even in the plans where they apply.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
Also, a change to the EHBs would require some sort of regulatory change. HHS has issued no new rule or guidance on this matter so far.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
Now, it’s obviously possible that many or even all insurers may choose to cover this test, and to cover it without cost sharing. But that’s not something the federal government can compel through this part of the law.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
Now, it’s obviously possible that many or even all insurers may choose to cover this test, and to cover it without cost sharing. But that’s not something the federal government can compel through this part of the law.
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
Finally, as many people have noted today, EHBs are among the provisions of Obamacare that repeal and replace efforts specifically targeted for elimination from the law. More on that here, with one of my all-time favorite quotes. https://t.co/u2VE2R4sA3 pic.twitter.com/kaWLveFLur
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) March 5, 2020
Granted, the vice president may simply have misspoken or not had all of the data when he declared that insurance would cover tests for coronavirus, but given this administration’s propensity for being less than honest with everything they say and do, it’s just as likely that Pence was trying to pass off bogus information in an attempt to keep people calm. Or, as another Twitter user noted:.
In other, simpler, words…he was bullshitting. Like virtually all the other times this administration says anything at all about healthcare.
— RenaissanceCPA (@RenaissanceCPA) March 5, 2020
Featured Image Via NBC News