Emory Healthcare : Just Another Example of Media Distortion

Emory is a private university and healthcare system in Atlanta, Georgia. On November 15, 2013 Emory Hospital cut 100 jobs from their Psychiatry Department. This is not shocking news in the Atlanta area considering several hospitals have done the same in recent years. The shocking news is that the media blamed the ACA for this reduction in staff by Emory Hospital. WSB an Atlanta news outlet that reports on the radio, television, and online published a story claiming this reduction in staff by Emory was a direct result of the implication of the ACA. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/emory-healthcare-cut-100-jobs-partly-because-obama/nZw5N/

 While The Atlantic, an online news information source, discovered the real reason for the reduction in staff at Emory Healthcare was because of low patient census and need within the Psychiatry department. Emory Healthcare expanded their Psychiatry department some years ago in anticipation of an increased number of patients. It turns out that an employee called WSBTV to report the story, claiming the reason behind the reduction was the AHA. This was untrue. However, the reporter did not verify these claims before publishing the story because of the need to make the AHA look detrimental to the job market. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/no-obamacare-isnt-the-reason-emory-is-laying-off-101-staffers/279689/

Another example of the media distorting the facts is from crooksandliars.com reporting that Fox News is claiming that the Cleveland Clinic would be shedding employees because of the implementation of the ACA. Fox News reported that the Cleveland Clinic was instituting "massive layoffs" due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, but when asked about the reports, a Clinic spokesperson told Media Matters, "We're not." Crooks and Liars goes on to explain that media matters received a letter from Eileen Sheil Cleveland Clinic's Executive Director of Corporate Communications, stating that the clinic was asking 3,000 employees for voluntary early retirements. This request is due to the restructuring of some aspects of the clinic. Cleveland Clinic has also asked Fox News in the future to accurately report on the clinic's plans. http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/fox-blames-obamacare-imaginary

This is why we should not just trust one media source for information regarding the ACA.