Last Thursday evening at the FOX News/Google GOP Debate in Orlando, Florida, Herman Cain was asked this question:
WALLACE: Mr. Cain, you are a survivor of stage 4 colon and liver cancer. And you say, if Obamacare had been...
(APPLAUSE)
WALLACE: ...and we all share in the happiness about your situation. But, you say if Obamacare had been in effect when you were first being treated, you would dead now. Why?
CAIN: The reason I said that I would be dead under Obamacare is because my cancer was detected in March of 2006. From March 2006 all the way to the end of 2006, for that number of months, I was able to get the necessary CAT scan tests, go to the necessary doctors, get a second opinion, get chemotherapy, go -- get surgery, recuperate from surgery, get more chemotherapy in a span of nine months. If we had been under Obamacare and a bureaucrat was trying to tell me when I could get that CAT scan that would have delayed by treatment.
My surgeons and doctors have told me that because I was able get the treatment as fast as I could, based upon my timetable and not the government's timetable that's what saved my life, because I only had a 30 percent chance of survival. And now I'm here five years cancer free, because I could do it on my timetable and not a bureaucrat's timetable.
This is one of the reasons I believe a lot of people are objecting to Obamacare, because we need get bureaucrats out of the business of trying to micromanage health care in this nation.
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Let's unpack this a bit...
Mr. Cain's cancer was detected in March of 2006. Over the next nine months, he was able to undergo a CAT scan, see multiple doctors, get a second opinion, undergo chemotherapy, surgery, recover from surgery and undergo more chemo to apparently beat the odds and emerge healthy. It was a busy and no doubt stressful time for him. He cites the speed with which he could move through those stages as being critical to his outcome. He's five year's cancer free.
Mr. Cain is a wealthy man by any measure. His reported earnings in 2010 were in between 1.2 and 3 Million dollars from his various incomes. His estimated net worth is reported to be $18 Million dollars.
I do not know this for a fact, but I think its reasonable to assume Mr. Cain has health insurance. He may be paying out of pocket for his health care, but I doubt it.
The main thrust of the PPACA is to increase the number of Americans with health insurance. This is achieved by the use of an old Republican idea called an individual mandate, where everyone is required to have health insurance. If a person doesn't have it, they are expected to purchase a suitable plan from a private insurance company. These private insurance companies manage their own plans. They don't contract the federal government to run their businesses.
The experience he had with his treatment should be similar to that of the average person who also has private health insurance. There is nothing in the PPACA that suggests that the government has to approve of any treatment plans agreed upon by a physician and patient and the involved health insurer. The government's permission isn't needed for the screening, the 2nd opinion, any consultations, surgeries, chemotherapy, etc.
The government does now require that Mr. Cain's insurance company not drop him because of this disease. It also requires that his insurance company not cut off his coverage because of any annual or lifetime "maximums" being reached.
It looks to be a pretty good situation for Mr. Cain.
For others, those who don't have the deep pockets and perhaps high quality health insurance plan that Mr. Cain probably has, the PPACA helps makes colo-rectal screenings easier to get, from a financial point of view, at least. The new law, almost one year ago, mandates that "...preventative services (wellness) treatment must be covered by insurers with no deductible or co-pays, and with no maximums allowed."
These guidelines are set forth by the US Preventative Task Force (USPSTF)...
Specifically this one:
-The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy, in adults, beginning at age 50 years and continuing until age 75 years. The risks and benefits of these screening methods vary.
Health insurance companies have to pay for these procedures.
So, for the previously uninsured or those with plans that did not cover this procedure, the PPACA makes the availability and likelihood of this procedure more not less likely to occur. Which means more Americans can hope for early detection and good outcomes than before.
Mr. Cain's claim that he would be dead now if Obamacare had been in effect is a variation on the "death panels" rhetoric of the past few years.
From FactCheck.org:
"Cain told a whopper when he said he “would be dead under Obamacare” because the cancer that was detected in 2006 was found early and “I was able to get the necessary CAT scan tests, go to the necessary doctors, get a second opinion, get chemotherapy.” But “If we had been under Obamacare and a bureaucrat was trying to tell me when I could get that CAT scan that would have delayed my treatment.” But the truth is that nothing in the new law would require any patient to clear CAT scans or medical treatment with “a bureaucrat.” Cain is simply reviving the old “death panel” claim, which topped our list of the “Whoppers of 2009.”
Another thing worth mentioning is that if Mr. Cain wanted treatment that his insurance didn't provide for, there's nothing whatsoever in the new health care law that would stop him from getting it.
It would've been nice if one of the anchors last Thursday would've thrown any of this at Mr. Cain in response to his answer.
I'll grant you his answer played to the crowd and was probably what most in the audience wanted to hear, but it wasn't brave to hide behind the misinformation.
If Mr. Cain wins the next election and succeeds in taking down the PPACA, I know two things for certain. One is that Mr. Cain will have no worries with regard to accessing health care. The other is that a lot more people in this country will lose this access. People who's pockets aren't as deep as Cain's are.
Is this really the type of leadership we need?
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