George Allen’s latest campaign ad, released yesterday, included three blatantly false statements, and Protect Your Care’s statement in response does a great job in correcting them. The statement shares:

Wrong fact #1:  The Affordable Care Act is “hurting Virginia’s families and small businesses.”

Correction #1:  The ACA benefits small business and Virginia’s families – According to a recent study by Virginia’s Commonwealth Institute, the “ACA provides a number of provisions and coverage options that will benefit small businesses and could jump-start an increase in coverage opportunities for workers at businesses with fewer than 50 employees…two new health insurance marketplaces will be critical to making health insurance more affordable to businesses and providing workers and other consumers with new affordable and quality health insurance options.”

• The Facts:

• Last year, more than 100,000 Virginian small businesses were for eligible for the premium tax credit under the ACA.¹
• More than 500,000 people will be gain health care coverage under the ACA and the state-implemented health benefits exchange.²

Wrong fact #2:  The ACA is “going to raise health care costs, the deficit and taxes and insurance premiums.”

Correction #2:  The ACA reduces health care costs and fixes health care system without adding to the deficit.

• The Facts³:
  • The ACA will save over $200 billion over 10 years and more than $1 trillion in the following decade.
  • The ACA “reduces health care costs by rewarding doctors, hospitals and other providers that deliver high quality care, making investments to fund research into what works, and cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Wrong fact #3:  Under the ACA “employees are picking up more of the tab [on health care]”

Correction #3:  The ACA will reduce employee health care and health care insurance costs.

• The Facts⁴:
  • When the ACA takes full effect in 2014, “small businesses with up to 100 employees will have access to state-based Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges, which will expand their purchasing power. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated that the Exchanges will reduce costs and increase competitive pressure on insurers, driving down premiums by up to 4 percent for small businesses.”

“Allen has his facts wrong,” said Executive Director of ProgressVA, Anna Scholl.  “The ACA is benefiting Virginia’s small business.  The ACA is benefiting Virginia’s employees.  The ACA is saving Virginia’s seniors millions.  The ACA is reducing the federal deficit by billions and eventually trillions.  Quite simply, the ACA is great for Virginians.  Allen should get his facts straight.”