Fact Check on ABC Debate

Factcheck.org has put out several articles since the last time I've talked about them. And some are relevant to the Republican primary, but the one that I am interested in is the article on the ABC/Facebook debates from Saturday night. Once again, even with fewer participants, Fred is not mentioned. Here is the summary:

Republicans were up first, and they got a little wild with their swings:

* Romney claimed that the 47 million Americans who lack health care are not covered because they say "I'm not going to play. I'm just going to get free care paid for by everybody else." Experts say that very few who are offered insurance turn it down and that the uninsured get worse care.

* Giuliani falsely blamed President Clinton for cuts in the military that occurred in large part under President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. He said that “the Army had been at 725,000; it’s down to 500,000.” That’s true, but it was down to 572,423 by the time Clinton took office.

* McCain recalled that he "strongly disagreed" with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and had "no confidence" in his Iraq strategy "at the time." But he didn't say publicly that he had no confidence in Rumsfeld until December 2004, after Bush was reelected and well after the war began.

* Romney falsely denied that an attack ad called McCain’s immigration bill "amnesty," though it does. One of his Web ads also attacks McCain for supporting "amnesty." He conceded during the debate that McCain’s bill "technically" isn’t amnesty.

* Giuliani claimed that "economists" say health insurance rates would fall by up to 50 percent if millions more shopped for policies individually. Once again, his campaign was unable to produce a single economist who supports that figure.

* Romney claimed his Massachusetts state insurance program had reduced the number of uninsured in Massachusetts by 300,000. That’s the number who have gained coverage under the system, but many were covered previously through other means.

I have further concerns on the health care debate regarding the contention that the government pays the tab for the 47 million uninsured. I don't buy it because it has not been my personal experience. The uninsured get hounded to pay their own way. There are likely some who get into catastrophic situations that end up getting paid for under government programs, but that is nowhere close to the 47 million that are uninsured--and generally, it is after they have become bankrupt.