Last night, Megyn Kelly interviewed Bill Elliott, a cancer patient who actually announced on the air that he planned to let himself die rather than burden his family with the medical bills he thinks ObamaCare is going to cause. But, apparently, Elliott is another in a long line of ObamaCare "victims" that Fox never bothered to investigate whether they needed to suffer the way they say. Fortunately for truth lovers, and possibly Mr. Elliott, Tommy Christopher, at Mediaite, did the work that The Kelly File should have. And the news is good for Elliott.
Kelly seemed to have done absolutely no research into Elliott’s case beyond reading a post he left on The Kelly File’s Facebook page. She began the interview by asking Elliott why he thought Obamacare is the cause of his current insurance being canceled, right in the middle of his cancer treatment. As if it never occurred to her to do any digging of her own to verify.
As it turns out, Elliott seemed to be under many misapprehensions about his options. None of which Kelly investigated, much less reported.
But Christopher did. Among other dubious findings, he wrote:
(Elliott) reveals that his old plan cost him about $170, and the one his “insurance guy” offered would cost him $1500 a month, with a $13,500 deductible. However, the most expensive Obamacare plan offered to individuals over 50 on the exchange for South Carolina is $796.87 a month, for the most expensive Gold plan, and Bronze plans in the state start at $255.35 a month. Kelly didn’t ask him, but Mr. Elliott might qualify for federal subsidies as well. For example, if he makes $26,000 a year, that Bronze plan would be $163.42 /mo., less than what he was paying before.
He also said “Now with Obamacare, the man that I’ve got looked into it, they are not going to pay for pharmaceuticals or medical devices.”
But under Obamacare, both of those categories are mandated as essential health benefits. Either Mr. Elliott’s insurance man is giving him a bum steer, or something is being lost in translation. I’ve tried to get in touch with Mr. Elliott, but have thus far been unsuccessful.
Why didn't Kelly or one of the Kelly File staffers check any of these details? Sadly, one can only conclude it's because Kelly and Fox News only want to know the bad news about ObamaCare and are afraid to spoil their story with any verified information. Even if it might save a life.
Kelly can’t seem to go 15 minutes without complaining about President Obama’s misstatement about ObamaCare. But I have yet to see her take responsibility for enabling this misinformation that could potentially cost a man his life. Or perhaps another member of her audience. She really needs, pardon the pun, to take a dose of her own medicine.
Note: I missed a few minutes of The Kelly File tonight but I'll catch it on re-run in a few minutes. So if Kelly did issue a clarification and take any of the responsibility she demands in others, I'll post an update.
UPDATE: I watched the part of the show I missed and there was no mention of Elliott's situation, much less a correction. Also, in my original post, I neglected to link to Tommy Christopher's post at Mediaite I have now added the link. Here it is again, with my apologies for the oversight: Fox News Cancer Patient Bill Elliott Doesn’t Have to Die
Meanwhile, poor Greta Van Susteren would have been dropped over ratings before her first renewal if she wasn’t the resident pretend librul.
NOTE TO KELLY
That duel lav mic looks tacky in front of your dress. Come to think of it, you are the one who is tacky. Doug has poor taste in women.
We are very familiar with this group. They have held numerous rallies across the nation trying to stop Obamacare.
Hannocchio won’t release this information. http://www.aapsonline.org/
We advise anyone seeking a doctor to ask if he/she is a member of this organization. If they are steer clear from them and find another doctor.
Not only did these people make me reflexively just loathe the medical profession, but the amount of misinformation that got doled out by these docs was breath-taking.