Unsupported DNC claims on health care misinformation

In an op-ed published in late March, I predicted that misinformation about health care reform would persist after its passage:

At the White House signing ceremony for health care legislation on Tuesday, President Obama declared, “In a few moments, when I sign this bill, all of the overheated rhetoric over reform will finally confront the reality of reform.” For Democrats nervous about political fallout from the bill in the November midterm elections, it’s reassuring to imagine that the myths about the legislation — that it provides free coverage to illegal immigrants, uses taxpayer money to subsidize abortions and mandates end-of-life counseling for the elderly — will be dispelled by its passage.

But public knowledge of the plan’s contents may not improve as quickly as Democrats hope. While some of the more outlandish rumors may dissipate, it is likely that misperceptions will linger for years, hindering substantive debate over the merits of the country’s new health care system. The reasons are rooted in human psychology...

Surprisingly, however, DNC pollster Joel Benenson suggests in a new memo (PDF) that "misinformation about President Obama’s health care reforms" is "giv[ing] way to Americans’ real-life experience with it" (via Mike Allen):

However, none of the poll results cited in the memo pertain to misinformation, and I haven't seen any surveys that show a decline in misperceptions about reform. While it appears to be true, as Benenson argues, that a narrow majority of Americans oppose repealing the law, it's not clear that this finding has anything to do with a decline in misinformation. Indeed, his proposed mechanism ("real-life experience" with reform) is implausible since most of the changes in the law have not yet taken effect. Absent further evidence, the claim appears to be pure partisan bluster.

[Cross-posted to Pollster.com]

Comments

[MartyB]

Good call Brendan.

As far as I am aware, the only parties that have had to actually deal with impact of reform at bthis point is businesses in their benefit planning, his statement is preposterous.

[David]

IMHO the misperceptions about the Health Care bill are not so much rooted to human psychology as they are a deliberate act by the Democrats and their media allies.

The bill was drafted in secret. It was passed before anyone had a chance to read it. It's so long and complex that it's hard to understand. The Dems who voted for it couldn't explain to their constituents how the bill would work, since they hadn't read it. The President didn't give an address and press conference to explain all the provisions. The liberal media made little or no effort to provide a coherent summary during the all-too-brief period during which the final draft was being debated and voted on.

Even after it was passed, the liberal media did little to inform its readers of the full details (including various payoffs!) The NY Times should have run a multi-page spread listing and explaining all the key provisions. To my knowledge, they haven't done so.

Here's a specific example: Some time ago I wrote to Brendan linking to a conservative site that claimed that, although the Public Option was removed from the bill, another provision remained that would allow a the government to offer health insurance. If the Dems and the media had done their job, we could go to a comprehensive outline to check the allegation. As it is, neither Brend nor I know whether it's correct.