CNN's Medical Correspondent -- and Former Candidate for Obama's Surgeon General -- Touts ObamaCare Benefits
Once a candidate to be President Obama's surgeon general – and thus the
mouthpiece for ObamaCare – Dr. Sanjay Gupta touted the benefits of
ObamaCare throughout the day on Thursday, after the Supreme Court upheld
the law. CNN's own medical correspondent was essentially defending the
law by explaining its benefits to different guests.
Two health care activists were among the guests who came to Gupta and
defended the bill. CNN didn't identify them as pro-ObamaCare, however,
even though their respective organizations supported the law.
One of the guests from Doctors for America, born
out of the group "Doctors for Obama" and sponsored by the Center for
American Progress, told CNN the quality of health care would improve and
the number of doctors would increase under ObamaCare. She also knocked
down a strawman argument by claiming many doctors who object to
ObamaCare do so out of "monetary gain."
Another guest, an activist who founded VoteHealthcare.org, actually
helped Gupta explain the benefits of ObamaCare. Her daughter, she said,
is "one pink slip away from no health insurance. But not after today."
She added that "we can sleep now because we know she'll be able to buy a
policy."
Gupta simply described her as a "viewer" and not until the end of the
interview did CNN note that she was Kathlie McClure, the founder of the
website. No mention was given that the website celebrated ObamaCare.
Gupta himself explained the law's benefits as well, just like the
health care activist did. He gave this positive take on the law's
community rating: "So for a lot of people who have illnesses or have
children, as you do, Kathie, with illnesses, this is a way for them to
get health care insurance where maybe they couldn't have gotten it
before or it would have been prohibitively expensive."
Gupta continued noting the benefits of the new bill. "[I]f you have
health care insurance and then you get sick, in the past you could have
been dropped. That can no longer happen."
