We all know that Republicans are hellbent on sabotaging Obamacare any way they can. But the lengths they’re going to are pretty astonishing. A few weeks ago The Hill reported that some Republican congressional offices, which routinely help constituents navigate the federal government, plan to turn away callers with Obamacare questions. “We know how to forward a phone call,” said the always charming Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).
Yesterday brought yet another wheeze as the state of Indiana released the projected cost of insurance on its Obamacare exchanges. The usual standard of comparison is for silver-level plans, but Indiana didn’t release that separately because then it would have been clear that Indiana’s costs were about the same as everyone else’s. Instead they munged together the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans in some unspecified way, and did it for no apparent reason except that it allowed them to trumpet a supposed 72 percent increase in the cost of health insurance.
Who do they think they’re fooling? Nobody, I suppose, but it provides fodder for Fox hosts and right-wing radio talkers who don’t really care whether the numbers have been deliberately cooked. All they care about is having an outrageous number to bellow about on the air, and Indiana gave them one.
Sarah Kliff breaks down the con job here, if you want more details.