(Newser)
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We're getting a lot of conflicting information about how the health law will shape our future—and unsurprisingly, neither the current inhabitant of the Oval Office nor the man who would replace him is giving us the full picture. The AP parses President Obama and Mitt Romney's biggest assertions:
- President Obama says those with health insurance "will keep" their current plans. In fact, the law doesn't guarantee that; your boss can still change or eliminate your coverage.
- Mitt Romney says 20 million people could lose their coverage. True, employer-based coverage could shrink as the market shifts and more individual options become available. But 20 million is the Congressional Budget Office's "worst-case scenario": It's more likely to be 3 million to 5 million people.
- Obama claims that almost 13 million people will be getting health insurance rebates this autumn. Yes, 13 million people will be affected by those rebates, but most will come to employers, not individuals.
- Romney holds that "ObamaCare adds trillions to our deficits and to our national debt." Actually, it would shrink the federal deficit by some $210 billion over the next decade, and would slowly continue to reduce the deficit in the ensuing years.
- We've all heard that ObamaCare is a "job-killer," a sentiment Romney has echoed. While the workforce will shrink by half a percent, according to the CBO, that's not necessarily a bad thing: It's largely the result of people opting to retire or go part-time because health insurance will be more available outside the workplace.
