Trump Lies About Health Care In His SOTU Speech

After Donald Trump finished his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi took her copy of the speech, tore it in half, and tossed it on her desk. That was the proper reaction to a speech that was full of lies.

And some of the biggest lies in the speech were about health care. Trump tried to pose as the health care president, when the truth is just the opposite. He has done nothing but damage health care since assuming office.

Here's how PolitiFact rated some of the speech's health care claims:

"I've also made an ironclad pledge to American families: We will also protect patients with pre-existing conditions."

This repeated line is Pants on Fire. His administration is doing the opposite in court.

The protections for patients with pre-existing conditions come from the Affordable Care Act, which passed under then-President Barack Obama. The law says that health plans cannot charge people more for insurance because of their medical history, and is one of the ACA’s most popular provisions.

Trump has repeatedly sought and supported congressional efforts to repeal the ACA, though those efforts memorably fell flat in 2017. More recently, his administration has declined to defend the law in a pending court case, known as Texas vs. Azar. In that case, a group of Republican states’ attorneys generals is arguing that the entire law should be struck down — including the pre-existing condition protection. The case is expected to end up before the Supreme Court, though not before the 2020 election.

The administration’s stance — endorsing the lawsuit and declining to defend the law — is almost unprecedented, legal experts say. 

Neither the president nor congressional Republicans has unveiled a replacement plan for the ACA. In the event the Supreme Court ultimately strikes down the health law, health plans would once again be allowed to charge people more if they have had any medical issues.

"Over 130 legislators in this chamber have endorsed legislation that would bankrupt our nation by providing free taxpayer-funded health care to millions of illegal aliens, forcing taxpayers to subsidize free care for anyone in the world who unlawfully crosses our borders."

Half True.

The "Medicare for All" program that many Democrats in Congress support is meant to cover undocumented people. But it is a gross exaggeration to suggest this expense would "bankrupt" the United States, especially since Medicare for All’s overall price-tag looks fairly similar to what we currently spend on health care. (It changes who pays.)

"Before I took office, health insurance premiums had more than doubled in just five years. I moved quickly to provide affordable alternatives. Our new plans are up to 60% less expensive and better."

Indeed, his administration has loosened regulations on forms of coverage, such as short-term and association health plans, which are not required to comply with Affordable Care Act regulations and carry lower premiums.

It’s unclear, however, if these plans are indeed "better," as the president said. Critics point out that short-term plans, for instance, can deny people coverage based on preexisting conditions. They also say that the lower premiums are possible because the plans cover far less than an ACA plans are required to include.

Last year, "for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down."

Mostly False.

The continued drug pricing trend suggests that prices may be stabilizing, but they are not coming down. And consumers are not experiencing that relief.

"With unyielding commitment, we are curbing the opioid epidemic — drug overdose deaths declined for the first time in nearly 30 years."

The number of overdoses did fall in 2018, but it’s not clear if it’s the beginning of a trend, and the death toll remains staggering.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show 67,367 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018, a 4.1% decline from 2017. Overdose deaths have been steadily increasing in recent decades; in 1999, the number of deaths was 16,849. 

A graphic in Science magazine compiled by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the CDC shows that the last decline in drug overdose deaths was in 1990, but it then climbed steadily up. The mortality rate was about 2 people per 100,000 in 1990 and rose to about 17 per 100,000 by 2016.

While the overall decline in drug overdose deaths is good news, overdoses from synthetic opioids other than methadone have been on the rise. 

"Fentanyl is only now spreading to the western United States, and methamphetamine addiction is resurgent, both of which could prevent the 2018 drop of overdoses from becoming a longer-term trend," said Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.