President Obama's speech writers apparently relied on the liberal online journal Slate for this false story Obama told during his speech before the Joint Session of Congress last week:
More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. It happens every day. One man from IL lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it.
Now here's what really happened, from the Wall Street Journal, yesterday:
In fact, the man, Otto S. Raddatz [pictured left in undated photo with wife Marie], didn't die because the insurance company rescinded his coverage once he became ill, an act known as recission.
The efforts of his sister and the office of IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan got Mr. Raddatz's policy reinstated within 3 weeks of his April 2005 rescission and secured a life-extending stem-cell transplant for him. Mr. Raddatz died this year, nearly 4 years after the insurance showdown.
Obama aides say the president got the essence of the story correct. Mr. Raddatz was dropped from his insurance plan weeks before a scheduled stem-cell transplant....
In fact, the "essence of the story" is incredibly ironic. Raddatz had 3 years added to his life by ADULT stem cell treatment, the very research Obama rescinded funding for on March 24, 2009.
[Top photo via the Associated Press; bottom photo via the Chicago Sun-Times]
Contact: Jill Stanek
Source: jillstanek.com
Publish Date: September 18, 2009
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