Chamber of Commerce distorts facts on Medicare

By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 5:17 p.m.

Related rulings:

"20 million people could lose their current coverage" … "including our senior citizens who are on Medicare."

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, May 9th, 2012.

Ruling: Pants on Fire! | Details

"Seniors will see $500 billion in Medicare cuts to fund Obamacare."

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, May 9th, 2012.

Ruling: Mostly False | Details

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is attacking Sen. Bill Nelson's vote in favor of the new health care law.

An ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims seniors could lose coverage thanks to "Obamacare." It pins the blame on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat.

Nelson's office is disputing the ad's accuracy and has asked TV stations to pull the ad.

The ad intercuts its own commentary with video footage of Nelson speaking on the Senate floor.

U.S. Chamber: "Obamacare will be a nightmare for Florida seniors. Did Bill Nelson consider the consequences when he cast a deciding vote for Obamacare?"

Nelson: "This legislation is gonna let folks that are happy with their insurance keep it …"

U.S. Chamber: "Wrong. 20 million people could lose their current coverage."

Nelson: "... including our senior citizens who are on Medicare."

U.S. Chamber: "But Senator, seniors will see $500 billion in Medicare cuts to fund Obamacare. Call Bill Nelson. Tell him to support the repeal of Obamacare."

We looked into two statements from the ad.

We fact-checked whether "seniors will see $500 billion in Medicare cuts to fund Obamacare," a claim we've seen many times. In this context, we rated the statement Mostly False.

We also fact-checked whether "20 million people could lose their current coverage." The ad strongly suggests these people would be seniors. We rated this claim Pants on Fire.