‘Socialist math 101’: Charles C.W. Cooke fact-checks Bernie Sanders on the average cost of childbirth
Bernie Sanders is at it again, this time attempting to claim that childbirth will be free under his Medicare-for-all plan:
Average cost of childbirth in the United States: $32,000
Average cost of childbirth with Medicare for All: $0
14.2K people are talking about this
First up, here’s where he’s getting his numbers from:
So, don’t freak out over those five-digit bills, initially. “Those commercial charges are basically a ruse,” says Carol Sakala, the director of Childbirth Connection programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “Our research found that hospitals charged over $32,000 for a vaginal birth, on average, but the actual amount paid by the insurance company, the mother, and any other third parties added up to about $18,000. Meanwhile, the out-of-pocket cost is much, much less.”
And as you can see, that math doesn’t add up:
He left out the unicorns:
Any fact checkers want to chime in?
BREAKING: Fact checkers are all out for coffee right now. Unavailable to dispute this BS. twitter.com/BernieSanders/…
See ForAmerica's other Tweets
And since we don’t see PolitiFact or any of the others jumping all over it, here’s Charles C.W. Cooke with the takedown:
What Bernie is doing here, if it's not obvious, is having it both ways. twitter.com/BernieSanders/… (1)
231 people are talking about this
In the first example, Bernie is citing the total average cost incurred on the back end—not the cost to the consumer. In the second example, he's citing the direct cost to the consumer if consumers weren't charged directly (and he's ignoring the taxes that would be necessary). (2)
60 people are talking about this
He needs to choose a comparison. Either he should compare how much the total average cost would be on the back end within the status quo to how much the total average cost on the backend would be if the government were the only payer, or (3)
28 people are talking about this
he should compare how much an average consumer is charged now (including premiums) with how much an average consumer would be charged under his plan (including taxes). But he can't mix and match. There's also a problem with his numbers. (4)
31 people are talking about this
The $32,000 number is the average cost on the back end, if you include every single birth in the U.S., and therefore all complicated cases. But the average cost to the consumer in the U.S. for a delivery is ~$3,500, and ~$8,800 for the whole process, pre-natal to post-partum. (5)
38 people are talking about this
He really does seem to think that if you declare something free at the point of delivery, it becomes free to produce. And if he doesn't think that, he thinks that you do. (6)
97 people are talking about this
Socialist gonna socialist.
‘Socialist math 101’: Charles C.W. Cooke fact-checks Bernie Sanders on the average cost of childbirth
![‘Socialist math 101’: Charles C.W. Cooke fact-checks Bernie Sanders on the average cost of childbirth]()
Reviewed by Your Destination
on
September 11, 2019
Rating:
No comments