Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Catching up with TPM

Josh Marshall brings the snark with the headline Great Moments in CNN Journalism. So what's the problem with CNN?:
I think I just heard CNN report that the CBO says the senate health care plan will make everyone's premiums higher but that there will also be some subsidies to help with some but not all of the increases. In case you missed it, we describe here what the report actually says.
OK, so apparently CNN grossly misrepresented the CBO report. So how did TPM describe it? Let's look at Marshall's link:
According to CBO, average premiums in the individual market would increase 10 to 13 percent because of provisions in the Senate health care bill, but, crucially, most people (about 57 percent) would actually find themselves paying significantly less money for insurance, thanks to federal subsidies for low- and middle-class consumers, than they would under current law.
What? Isn't CNN, or more precisely, Josh Marshall's offhand recollection of CNN reported, accurate?

Sure, "everyone's premiums" is not "average premiums", and "some" isn't "most"*, but the CNN statement wasn't inaccurate. This is really splitting hairs, and it's not fair to demand precision when judging what "I think I just heard." And to slap the ultra-snarky judgmental title "Great Moments in CNN Journalism" is unfair.

*57% also isn't 95% or 85% or 65%. Let's not act like there's a huge majority here.

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