Wednesday’s CBS Evening News celebrated the one-year anniversary of ObamaCare by touting its benefits before Katie Couric, who devoted half her newscast to Elizabeth Taylor’s passing, fretted: “What about the legal battles? Could they actually derail health care reform altogether?”
Neither ABC nor NBC touched ObamaCare on Wednesday night but, in contrast to CBS, on FNC’s Special Report Carl Cameron noted “the latest Gallup poll suggests it’s less popular than a year ago” and raised how Obama allies are trying to escape it, citing “requests for over a thousand waivers, half of which went to labor unions letting them and some other organizations and businesses opt out of the plan until at least 2014.”
Couric began by asking Jan Crawford “what changes has the law made in the health care system so far?” Crawford recited:
The law says parents can keep their children on their insurance policies until they’re 26 years old. That means another 1.2 million young adults will get coverage. It also bans insurance companies from denying coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions. That affects up to 17 million children. And it's given some seniors more money to buy prescription drugs.
(Another media figure pleased with ObamaCare: In Tuesday's Washington Post “Business” section, Ezra Klein called it “a good law,” concluding: “So happy birthday, Affordable Care Act. Here’s to many more.”)
From the Wednesday, March 23 CBS Evening News:
KATIE COURIC: One year ago today President Obama signed the health care reform law meant to cut the number of uninsured in this country by about 30 million by 2016. But the legal challenges soon came pouring in. Jan Crawford is our chief legal correspondent. Jan, what changes has the law made in the health care system so far?
JAN CRAWFORD: Well, there have been quite a few. I mean, for example, the law says parents can keep their children on their insurance policies until they’re 26 years old. That means another 1.2 million young adults will get coverage. It also bans insurance companies from denying coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions. That affects up to 17 million children. And it's given some seniors more money to buy prescription drugs.
CRAWFORD: Well, absolutely. I mean there is this huge legal battle. It’s headed straight for the Supreme Court, possibly by the end of the year. Now 28 states are challenging the law, they say it eviscerates the constitution because it gives Congress this unchecked power. Now what they’re focusing on is a provision in the law that says everyone has to buy health insurance starting in the year 2014 or pay a penalty. These states say Congress can't make you buy something. Katie?
COURIC: All right, Jan Crawford in Washington, thank you.
— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
