Bad Deeds for 9-16-2009

Glenn Beck Tries to Prove Number of People Attending Rally by Citing University of â€“ I Donâ€™t Remember – Citing “a university,” Glenn Beck claimed on Monday that 1.7 million people had attended the anti-reform protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. He couldn’t remember the name of the school, for some reason. “We had a university, I think it’s University of — I don’t remember which university it is — um, look at the pictures. And you know, they can do body space and calculate, 1.7 million, that crowd was estimated.”

Fox News host Gretchen Carlson pointed out that her network, like most of the press, had estimated the crowd in the tens of thousands. Beck dismissed that “official report.” D.C. police told ABC News the rally actually numbered 60,000 to 75,000. While an official estimate has not been released, the network reasonably noted that it would be impossible to confuse thousands with millions.

Many Employers to Raise Cost of Health Benefits, Survey Finds – Though Americans who already have medical coverage may be wary of change, a new survey indicates that they may be hard-pressed to escape it — even in the absence of health-care reform. As businesses contend with rising costs, many workers face an erosion of health benefits next year, according to an annual survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.

Forty percent of employers surveyed said they are likely to increase the amount their workers pay out of pocket for doctor visits. Almost as many said they are likely to raise annual deductibles and the amount workers pay for prescription drugs.

Almost two-thirds of corporations surveyed by the Mercer consulting firm plan to call on employees to pay a greater share of health plan costs next year, according to a report last week.

The authors of the study said the findings underscore the need for federal action to rein in costs.

Insurance And HMO Industries Spend Nearly $700,000 Per Day To Kill Health Care Reform Measures – A campaign finance watchdogâ€™s analysis of insurance and HMO political contributions and lobbying expenses found the industries spent $126,430,438 over the first half of 2009 and $585,725,712 over the past two and a half years to influence public policy and elected officials. The group, Public Campaign Action Fund, found that in the first part of 2009, the industries were spending money at nearly a $700,000 a day clip to influence the political process and that the monthly pace of political spending this year has increased by nearly $400,000 over the average spent per month in the previous two years.

â€œThe insurance and HMO interests are fighting health care reform with hundreds of millions of dollars,â€ commented David Donnelly, national campaigns director of Public Campaign Action Fund. â€œWhy are so many in Congress willing to listen to an industry that is spending tens of millions every month on politics rather than on lowering their premiums or helping to address the costs of health care?

LEAKED: Joe Wilson’s List of Possible Things To Yell at Obama’s Presidential Address