A missed opportunity to lower drug prices, and is healthcare in a death spiral? Those are the two claims PolitFact Wisconsin put to the Truth O'Meter test Wednesday.
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It was a tweet from Senator Tammy Baldwin on prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare that got the attention of PolitiFact.
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"We have a broken system in D.C. that prohibits the fed gov from negotiating lower Rx drug prices for our senior citizens. Let's change it," the tweet read.
Opponents of the law say it prevents the federal government from using its leverage to lower prices. PolitiFact rated Baldwin's claim True.
"She's right on this point," said Greg Borowski at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "under the law, while insurance companies are able to negotiate better rates for drug costs, the federal government can't."
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House Speaker Paul Ryan is not a fan of Obamacare. But in December, Ryan made this ominous claim:
"The law is in what the actuaries tell us (is) a death spiral," the Wisconsin republican said. "So we've got to intervene to prevent this from getting worse."
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PolitiFact says the death spiral terms refers to three issues.
1 Shrinking enrollment.
2. Deteriorating risk pools.
3. Rising premiums.
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"Enrollment in Obamacare is not down, it's up slightly," said Borowski, "the risk pool has not substantially changed, and while premiums are going up, for most people that increase is covered by a subsidy from federal government."
PolitiFact rated Ryan's claim False.
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