Sebelius dodges ‘Lie of the Year’ question

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday dodged a question about how President Obama’s pledge that ‘if you like your plan, you can keep it’ earned the “Lie of the Year” award from the political fact-checking organization, Politifact.

{mosads}Speaking at the Miami-Dade Public Library in an effort to highlight the different ways to enroll for ObamaCare, Sebelius was confronted by a reporter for the Miami Herald about the pledge.

Sebelius first sought to diminish the importance of the promise, saying that it didn’t affect “the vast majority of Americans in the health insurance market” and that the administration had offered a work-around.

However, Sebelius later ignored two questions about whether she thought the claim was a lie.

Millions of people have been told by their insurers that their plans will be canceled under the Affordable Care Act, despite Obama’s promises that any one who liked their plan could keep it.



“It was a catchy political pitch and a chance to calm nerves about his dramatic plan to bring historic change to America’s health insurance system,” Politifact wrote. “But the promise was impossible to keep.”


The White House announced a work-around earlier this year, when Obama said he heard “loud and clear” why individuals were upset over receiving the cancellation notices despite his promise. 

“I completely get how upsetting this could be … particularly after assurances they heard from me,” he said at the time.



The president’s offer to quell the bipartisan outcry was to allow states an additional year to continue offering plans that don’t meet ObamaCare’s mandated requirements.