Silver State Slipups
An ad from a PAC headed by tea party Republican Sharron Angle relies on several dubious comparisons to attack the Affordable Care Act’s state-run exchange in Nevada.
The ad claims Nevada’s exchange “has brought the highest increase in premiums in the country” — 179 percent. The claim relies on an analysis from a conservative think tank that purports to compare pre- and post-ACA insurance rates on the individual market, but the state’s Department of Insurance says the comparison is not “fair” or “accurate.”
The on-screen text claims that the Nevada exchange offers “33 percent of the benefits of the federal exchange.” All exchange plans — regardless of whether offered on state-based or federally run marketplace exchanges — are required to cover the same set of essential health benefits.
The ad claims enrollment in the exchange has been far less than what was “projected, and needed.” Enrollment has, indeed, fallen short of initial goals, and even the more modest goals reset in February, but exchange officials say the program is “sustainable” with the current enrollment.
More: Silver State Slipups