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Washington Post Rates Huelskamp's ACA Claim A 'Whopper'

Bryan Thompson
/
Heartland Health Monitor/File photo

A Washington Post blog called “The Fact Checker” gives a “Four Pinocchios” rating to recent claims by Kansas First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp about the Affordable Care Act

The rating is based on statements Huelskamp made during recent town hall meetings in Hays and Salina, when he was asked about the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

“But the numbers we see today, is that, as I understand them, we believe there are more people uninsured today in Kansas than they were before the President’s health care plan went into effect," Huelskamp says. "And I thought the goal was to bring more people under insurance.”

The Washington Post reporter who writes “The Fact Checker”, Glenn Kessler, says he asked Huelskamp’s office what “numbers” the congressman was referring to, but got no response—until 12 hours after his column was published.

Huelskamp’s office says Census data show the number of uninsured in Kansas rose 8,000 from 2010 to 2012. Kessler points out that the percentage of uninsured Kansans was unchanged, and that these figures were before the exchanges even opened.

He says the available figures on young adults and exchange enrollments provide good evidence that the law has led to a decrease in the number of uninsured. His “Four Pinocchios” rating characterizes Huelskamp’s claim as a whopper.