As the health care discussion moves forward, there have been varying claims made by the President, political parties and U.S. Chamber of Commerce just to name a few.  Factcheck.org can be used to separate fact from fiction.   According to Factcheck, it is a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.

The 7 Falsehoods About Health Care, Obama’s Health Care speech and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Campaign about Taxing Businesses and Consumers are just a few of the recent articles that are helpful in sorting out the health care rhetoric and facts.

Says Factcheck: “We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.  Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.”

Here is an example of FactCheck review of the latest RNC Tax Attack Web ads:

The Republican National Committee claims in a new Web ad that Democratic health care plans propose taxes on "charities and small businesses, a doctor’s tax. Taxes on your health insurance. Even a tax on medical supplies."

It’s perfectly true, as the ad says, that "hundreds of billions" in taxes are being proposed – spread over 10 years. But the ad exaggerates and misleads in a number of ways:

• It makes a downright false claim that ordinary wheelchairs would be among "medical supplies" subject to a proposed tax on manufacturers and importers. That’s not true: Wheelchairs and roughly half of all other medical devices would be exempt. (When we pointed this out, an RNC official said the ad would be modified, however.)
• It features a proposed tax on medical laboratory services that has already been dropped.
• The alleged tax on "charities" is actually a proposed limit on federal income tax deductions for charitable gifts by individual taxpayers in the highest brackets, not a tax levied directly on the charities themselves.
• Similarly, the "small business" tax also refers to a proposed tax increase on individuals making more than $280,000 a year ($350,000 for families), only some of whom own small businesses. The vast majority of small-business owners don’t bring in enough to be affected.

The ad claims "your health insurance costs will skyrocket," but independent experts disagree. The head of the Congressional Budget Office says the biggest tax proposed in the Senate Finance Committee plan, for example, would reduce health care spending, because it cuts a tax incentive that encourages spending.

Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed at:  www.factcheck.org