Joe Biden approved a “new card” that “gives free health insurance to Americans” who are 25 and older.
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Sorry, free health insurance for Americans 25 and older is not a reality
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- Some Americans do qualify for federal subsidies to help them pay for health insurance plans, but there isn’t a magic free health insurance card forthcoming.
- An image in this post has been doctored to look like a live news broadcast of President Joe Biden announcing this new card, but the photo was taken during a foreign policy speech at the State Department in 2021.
Health insurance premiums have leapt in the past decade, making what looks like breaking news shared in a recent Facebook post quite appealing: free health insurance for Americans 25 and older.
"Biden approves new healthcare card that gives $0 health, vision & dental benefits to those 25 and older," a June 5 Facebook post says. "Claim Before the Deadline"
The post also shows an image of what looks like a still from a live news broadcast of Biden delivering remarks at a podium.
"LIVE," reads text in the top left corner of the image. Below, it says "BREAKING NEWS" and "BIDEN APPROVES $0 HEALTH CARD." There’s also a time stamp — 10:47 — and text that says "new card gives free health insurance to Americans 25+."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
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While a health care card providing free health, vision and dental benefits sounds attractive, PolitiFact found no evidence that one is actually available.
In April 2021, after the passage of the American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 relief package, nearly 7 million uninsured Americans qualified for free health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, Vox reported at the time. That’s because the plan expanded eligibility for the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies, which help people pay for insurance plans purchased on the health insurance marketplace.
But that was only about a quarter of the 29 million people without health insurance in the United States. Unless Congress acts, those expanded subsidies expire at the end of 2022, according to Politico, which published a story in March about how "the president’s ambitious health care plans are faltering."
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The image that appears in the post was doctored to make it look like Biden is announcing free health insurance for most adult Americans.
But a reverse image search shows that the photo was actually taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci in February 2021, when Biden gave a foreign policy speech at the State Department.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken can be seen standing to Biden’s right.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 5, 2022
CNBC, Average family premiums for employer-based health insurance have jumped 47% in the last decade, outpacing wage growth and inflation, Nov. 11, 2021
U.S. Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Biden Administration Represents Opportunities for Expanding Cooperation with the DRC, Jan. 25, 2021
Politico, Joe Biden’s Never-Ending Campaign to Build on Obamacare, March 23, 2022
Vox, Exclusive: Nearly 7 million uninsured Americans qualify for free health insurance, April 1, 2021
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Sorry, free health insurance for Americans 25 and older is not a reality
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