Building a case for HC reform on lies

All about Natoma: A case study  by Scott Johnson at Powerline (see original for all the links):

Have more lies ever been told about a worse public policy than the Democrats' impending nationalization of health care? If so, I can't think of it offhand this morning.

Obamacare won't improve the health care system. It isn't fiscally responsible. It relies on budget gimmicks. It won't reduce the deficit. It won't lower insurance premiums. It won't increase coverage choices. It won't control health care costs. And it does not respect the virtues of the current system.

Take the case of Natoma Canfield. Obama's flaks were all over the Sunday shows telling her sad story as the reason why Obamacare is necessary. She is a cancer survivor who has struggled to pay increasing health insurance premiums. Last year she incurred significant health care expenses and dropped her health insurance coverage.

Then Canfield contracted leukemia. She wrote a letter to Obama this past December bewailing her fate. She described herself as in desperate need of Obama's help.

Canield's letter provided the pretext yesterday for Obama to visit Ohio, stump for Obamacare and give Dennis Kucinich a ride in Air Force One (with or without the missus?).

Natoma Canfield's is a sad story. Leukemia is a ferocious disease, although American medicine has made incredible strides in treating it.

But it turns out that Natoma Canfield didn't need Obama's help after all. Canfield is the beneficiary of the advances in the treatment of leukemia. She is receiving treatment for her leukemia. Indeed, she is receiving treatment for her leukemia at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the finest medical facilities in the United States (one that Obama has previously recognized as a model facility).

And the Cleveland Clinic is apparently treating Canfield without payment up front. Instead, it is relying on Canfield qualifying for Medicaid or is willing to providing her care at the expense of the clinic.

Fox News quotes the executive director of patient financial services at the Cleveland Clinic saying that "all indications" at the outset are that Canfield will be considered for assistance. "She may be eligible for state Medicaid ... and/or she will be eligible for charity (care) of some form or type. ... In my personal opinion, she will be eligible for something," he said, adding that Canfield should not be worried about losing her home.

The New York Times somehow missed that story.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025841.php (See original for all the links)