Conservative radio host Dom Giordano was shut down Wednesday on Newsmax after floating a baseless claim that Obamacare was fraught with fraud amid the ongoing government shutdown over extending health care subsidies.
Congress failed to adopt a spending bill by the fiscal year deadline Tuesday night, and thereby kicked off the first government shutdown since 2019. The top sticking point for lawmakers was Republicans’ refusal to extend subsidies for Obamacare, which assists Americans without employer-based health insurance, with Republican-led states leading enrollment in the program in recent years.
Now, with 22 million Americans’ health insurance costs in limbo, Giordano attempted to dismiss the program out of hand by suggesting it was fraught with fraud and abuse.
“About 60% of the people on this extended benefit for COVID with Obamacare apparently have never filed a claim,” Giordano claimed. “You know what that points to with me? It points to fraud and abuse that's here.”
Whether or not an American enrolled in Obamacare has filed a claim or not is not indicative of fraud and abuse, according to experts, with prominent Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno (OH) recently touting the same 60% figure to dismiss the program’s viability.
Appearing on Newsmax as well was Grant Stern, executive director of Occupy Democrats, who immediately challenged Giordano’s assertion.
“Never filed a claim? You can't have fraud with no claim!” Stern said. “People with Obamacare subsidies, these are working people. In fact, most of the people that are getting these subsidies are probably self-employed working people, the people that we need to support the most, the entrepreneurs; they are the backbone of our economy.”
Giordano fired back at Stern, questioning how he knew that most Obamacare enrollees were self-employed, to which Stern said his assertion came from personal experience. About half of Obamacare enrollees are either small business owners, employees or self-employed, with the subsidies designed to help Americans without employer-based insurance afford health insurance on the private market.
Giordano would again bring up the 60% figure, to which, again, he was shut down by Stern.
“That means that they're not abusing it, that's the opposite!” Stern said. “If they're filing claims, you could say, 'well, maybe they're filing some sort of false claim.' There's no fraud that's happening in the Obamacare system.”
Furthermore, Giordano characterized the government shutdown as the "Schumer shutdown," so named after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Stern instead dubbed the shutdown as wholly belonging to President Donald Trump.
"This is Donald Trump's shutdown! He doesn't want to give health care to American people who are working class, people who need health care," Stern said. "...This is the Republican strategy: they will shut the government down rather than fund Americans' health care, and prices are rising right now, people need lower health care costs, lower health care premiums."
