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It was one of President Obama’s favorite campaign lines: “No matter what you’ve heard, if you like your doctor or health care plan, you can keep them.”
The promise was made over and over as Obama first was lobbying for his Obamacare nationalization of health care decision-making.
Then it gained new life when the plan came under criticism and he was defending it.
But it wasn’t true.
At least, not according to Obama’s own administration.
At healthcare.gov, the Health Insurance blog posted by the government, is the question, “Can I keep my doctor?”
“Depending on the plan you choose in the Marketplace, you may be able to keep your current doctor.”
There’s a reason, of course, for the change.
Explains the government: “Most health insurance plans offered in the Marketplace have networks of hospitals, doctors, specialists, pharmacies, and other health care providers. Networks include health care providers that the plan contracts with to take care of the plan’s members. Depending on the type of policy you buy, care may be covered only when you get it from a network provider.”
So apparently you can keep your plan and your doctor, you just can’t see your doctor under some circumstances.
“When comparing plans in the Marketplace, you will see a link to a list of providers in each plan’s network. If staying with your current doctors is important to you, check to see if they are included before choosing a plan,” the administration explains.
Commented the Weekly Standard: “As Obamacare was being pushed through Congress in 2010, the Obama administration and its allies were unequivocal in two claims: if you like your doctor and you like your current health care plan, you an keep them both. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed the president fully in this regard. The White House even went so far as to post a ‘Health Insurance Reform Reality Check’ on its website, where “Linda Douglass of the White House Office of Health Reform debunks the myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors.'”
