Ignoring Republican sabotage, Fox & Friends uses health care insurer withdrawal to claim Obamacare failure

Fox & Friends' Jillian Mele misleadingly claimed that the decision of the nation's second largest insurer, Anthem, to pull out of Indiana and Wisconsin was “more evidence Obamacare is a prescription for failure.” Mele claimed Anthem was ending its agreement because “it just can't manage the cost of sick patients signing up for Obamacare.” In fact, the major reasons Anthem cited for its pullout were the “volatile” individual health insurance market and “uncertainty” about the Trump administration's stance on the Affordable Care Act. Uncertainty has also been cited as a reason for withdrawal by Aetna and Humana, two other major insurers, and there are indications that Republican obstruction to Medicaid expansion have also made insurers more inclined to exit. The misleading claim continues Fox News' manufactured narrative that insurer withdrawals are proof of an impending “death spiral” in the law. From the June 22 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

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JILLIAN MELE: And more evidence this morning Obamacare is a prescription for failure. The nation's second largest health insurer just pulled out. Anthem ended its agreement in Indiana and Wisconsin for next year because it just can't manage the cost of sick patients signing up for Obamacare. Instead, Anthem will offer an off-exchange medical plan in five counties across Indiana and one in Wisconsin.