Here are the lies Paul Ryan told about Obamacare during his town hall meeting<\/a><\/h2>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/napervilledemocrats.org\/ntdo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/mhiltzik-snap-photo.jpg?resize=750%2C422\")
<\/a>House Speaker Paul Ryan, dancing as fast as he can during Thursday’s town hall to explain why he’s in such a hurry to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (CNN)<\/p><\/div>\n
We know that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan<\/a> (R-Wisc.) is desperate to repeal the Affordable Care Act<\/a>. What he never has been able to explain adequately is why.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Oh, sure, Ryan has offered some rhetorical explanations. He says Obamacare is \u201ccollapsing.\u201d That it\u2019s in a \u201cdeath spiral.\u201d That it\u2019s a \u201cstruggle\u201d for Americans. He says a \u201cmuch, much better system\u201d could be put in its place.<\/p>\n
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Ryan made all these points, and more, during a town hall meeting<\/a> Thursday evening aired by CNN. The hour-long session didn\u2019t yield an explanation for Ryan\u2019s haste to take action that could upend insurance coverage for more than 20 million Americans. It did underscore, however, that his description of and position on the law are based on misconceptions, misrepresentations and lies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Doubts about the wisdom of rushing into repeal \u2014 expressed not only by doctors, hospitals, health advocates, patients and even Republican governors \u2014 haven\u2019t slowed the rush on Capitol Hill. On Friday, the House approved a budget resolution that will begin the process of stripping away some ACA provisions; the Senate passed its own version earlier this week. Nine Republicans<\/a> crossed the aisle to oppose the measure, which otherwise passed on a party-line vote.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Here are some of the most glaring misstatements about the Affordable Care Act that came out of Ryan\u2019s mouth during the Thursday town hall.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
— \u201cThe law is collapsing.\u201d \u201c<\/strong>We\u2019ve got to rescue people from the collapsing of this law,\u201d Ryan said. He didn\u2019t\u00a0specify what he means by \u201ccollapsing,\u201d but by almost any measure of enrollment and cost this generalization has no basis in truth. Enrollment in private plans offered through the ACA exchanges for 2017 is running well ahead of the figure for 2016. Last year about 11 million people signed up for exchange plans; this year the total is projected to be 12 million<\/a>. That\u2019s not counting enrollees under Medicaid expansion, who number about 11 million.<\/p>\n
<\/a>House Speaker Paul Ryan, dancing as fast as he can during Thursday’s town hall to explain why he’s in such a hurry to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (CNN)<\/p><\/div>\n
We know that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan<\/a> (R-Wisc.) is desperate to repeal the Affordable Care Act<\/a>. What he never has been able to explain adequately is why.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oh, sure, Ryan has offered some rhetorical explanations. He says Obamacare is \u201ccollapsing.\u201d That it\u2019s in a \u201cdeath spiral.\u201d That it\u2019s a \u201cstruggle\u201d for Americans. He says a \u201cmuch, much better system\u201d could be put in its place.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ryan made all these points, and more, during a town hall meeting<\/a> Thursday evening aired by CNN. The hour-long session didn\u2019t yield an explanation for Ryan\u2019s haste to take action that could upend insurance coverage for more than 20 million Americans. It did underscore, however, that his description of and position on the law are based on misconceptions, misrepresentations and lies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Doubts about the wisdom of rushing into repeal \u2014 expressed not only by doctors, hospitals, health advocates, patients and even Republican governors \u2014 haven\u2019t slowed the rush on Capitol Hill. On Friday, the House approved a budget resolution that will begin the process of stripping away some ACA provisions; the Senate passed its own version earlier this week. Nine Republicans<\/a> crossed the aisle to oppose the measure, which otherwise passed on a party-line vote.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some of the most glaring misstatements about the Affordable Care Act that came out of Ryan\u2019s mouth during the Thursday town hall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n — \u201cThe law is collapsing.\u201d \u201c<\/strong>We\u2019ve got to rescue people from the collapsing of this law,\u201d Ryan said. He didn\u2019t\u00a0specify what he means by \u201ccollapsing,\u201d but by almost any measure of enrollment and cost this generalization has no basis in truth. Enrollment in private plans offered through the ACA exchanges for 2017 is running well ahead of the figure for 2016. Last year about 11 million people signed up for exchange plans; this year the total is projected to be 12 million<\/a>. That\u2019s not counting enrollees under Medicaid expansion, who number about 11 million.<\/p>\n