WELL, NO ONE LOOKS TO POLS FOR KNOWLEDGE:

What Senators Think They Know about Health Care: ... isn’t so. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 12/14/09, National Review)

Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), for example, said during floor debate that the uninsured impose a “hidden tax” of more than $1,000 per person. That claim, as regular readers of NRO already know, originated with a left-wing advocacy group. A Kaiser Family Foundation study debunked the group’s analysis, reaching an estimate closer to $200 per year for a family. The Congressional Budget Office has joined in the debunking.

Sen. Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) said that half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. A 2006 study found that only 9 percent of bankruptcies were primarily the result of medical bills. The study where Durbin’s claim originated used very loose criteria to classify bankruptcies as medical in nature; even in that study, only 29 percent of those surveyed blamed health expenses for their bankruptcies. [...]

Here’s one more gem from Senator Baucus: “This bill does not increase government.” I trust that this one requires no refutation.