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'Morning Joe' Pushes Misleading Claim About Senate Republican Tax Bill

November 20, 2017

MSNBC's "Morning Joe" news show on Monday pushed the misleading claim that 13 million people will lose their health care coverage if the Senate Republican tax bill repeals Obamacare's individual mandate.

The Washington Post's fact checker gave Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) "two Pinocchios" last week for his claim that the Senate Republican tax plan is "kicking 13 million people off health insurance to give tax cuts to the wealthy" by adding a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, which forces most Americans who do not have health care to pay a fine, to the most recent version of the bill.

The Post defines a "two-Pinocchio" claim as a statement with "significant omissions and/or exaggerations."

MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle echoed this claim during Monday's show, saying the tax bill would be "eliminating health care for 13 million people."

The chyron on MSNBC also claimed, "13 million to lose coverage if Senate tax bill repeals Obamacare's individual mandate."

The Post's fact checker, Glenn Kessler, concluded last week that the 13-million figure is "problematic" and that when the Congressional Budget Office estimates the impact of repealing the individual mandate, it is "describing a voluntary action of people choosing not to buy health insurance," which is not the same as "kicking off" 13 million people. Kessler went on to say that Senate Democrats need to be more specific when they describe the CBO report.

Several Democrats in Congress, including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), have sent out misleading tweets about 13 million people losing their health care coverage if the individual mandate is repealed.