Lying in Montana: President says, again, that American’s pay $6,000 more for health care
Another repeated lie about health care from the president. In Montana today, the president said this, according to the White House transcript:
Well, let me tell you what happens in other industrialized countries. First of all, I think it’s important for everybody to understand that Americans spend $5,000 to $6,000 per person more than any other advanced nation on earth — $5,000 or $6,000 more than any other person — any other country on earth.
He said this during his July 22 press conference, and it’s still just as inaccurate.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, American’s spend, on average, $6,000 total per year on health care. For the president’s claim to be true, health care in other “advanced” countries would have to cost them nothing.
As Philip Klein pointed out at the time:
While it’s true that Americans pay more than any other country, the actual health care costs per person in the U.S. were about $6,000 in 2007, according to a CBO report. So for Obama’s claim to be true — that is, that other countries are spending $6,000 less, on average — you’d have to believe that it costs every other advanced country zero dollars to provide all of their citizens with health care.
Sources:
The New York Times, Aug. 14, 2009
Live Blogging: Obama Hosts a Town Hall in Montana
The White House, Aug. 14, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN TOWN HALL ON HEALTH CARE
Congressional Budget Office, November 2007
The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending
The American Spectator, July 23, 2009
