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PolitiFact Health Check is a partnership with Kaiser Health News to help you find the truth in politics. Every day, reporters and researchers from PolitiFact and Kaiser Health News examine statements by elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance.

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Kaiser Health News

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Mostly True

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Pants on Fire

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All Fact-checks for Health Check

America First Legal

stated on October 9, 2022 in a radio advertisement

"Joe Biden and the New Left even promote surgery on teens and young adults, removing breasts and genitals."

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on September 23, 2022 in a screenshot

"Only 325,000 American kids out of 19,000,000" were vaccinated against COVID-19.

true

barely-true

California Together, No On Proposition 1

stated on August 16, 2022 in comments on its website

“With Proposition 1, the number of abortion seekers from other states will soar even higher, costing taxpayers millions more.”

true

barely-true

stated on August 18, 2022 in a video shared on Facebook

A New England Journal of Medicine study found that vaccinated people are “5X more contagious than the unvaccinated 10 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection.”

true

false

stated on August 4, 2022 in a press conference

"They are literally chopping off the private parts of young kids."

true

barely-true

Power to the Patients

stated on April 19, 2022 in a television ad

About a federal hospital price transparency requirement, “Nobody’s enforcing that law.”

true

half-true

stated on July 27, 2022 in a Facebook reel

Consuming “rice and beans, milk, cheese, butter and eggs” causes disease by age 30.

true

pants-fire

stated on August 3, 2022 in an image on Facebook

The CDC has classified monkeypox as an airborne form of herpes that can lead to paralysis.

true

false

stated on July 21, 2022 in a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives

“In no way, shape, or form is access to contraception limited or at risk of being limited.”

true

false

American Commitment

stated on July 10, 2022 in an advertisement

Sen. Joe Manchin and AARP “support government price-setting schemes” to divert money from Medicare to “unrelated government programs or pad big insurers’ profits.”

true

false

stated on December 31, 2017 in a video interview

"ADHD does not exist."

true

false

stated on March 31, 2022 in a Twitter thread

“The price of insulin increases as waistlines increase.”

true

false

stated on February 21, 2022 in a virtual town hall meeting

Florida is "49th in the nation when it comes to (Medicaid) funding” for people with disabilities.

true

true

stated on March 2, 2022 in a press conference

Wearing masks is “COVID theater” and “not doing anything.”

true

false

stated on February 10, 2022 in a speech

“Millions of hardworking Americans will no longer have to worry about unexpected medical bills.”

true

mostly-true

stated on January 31, 2022 in Twitter posts

Research from Japan shows “ivermectin is effective against omicron in Phase III trial.”

true

false

stated on January 25, 2022 in a tweet

“Without a shred of clinical data to support its decision, the Biden Administration has revoked the emergency use authorization for lifesaving monoclonal antibody treatments.”

true

barely-true

stated on December 22, 2021 in a tweet

“WHO Director-General: The vaccines are being used to kill children.”

true

false

Instagram posts

stated on December 6, 2021 in an Instagram post

Deaths from vaccines have totaled 1,621 from Johnson & Johnson, 4,799 from Moderna, 13,039 from Pfizer and 73 from unknown vaccines. And this is an undercount because “only 1% of deaths are reported.”

true

false

Community Oncology Alliance

stated on November 29, 2021 in a radio ad

"An independent analysis shows that payments for cancer care will be slashed by close to 45% causing cancer clinics to close and massively raising your healthcare costs.”

true

half-true

When does life begin? As state laws define it, science, politics and religion clash

When does life begin? As state laws define it, science, politics and religion clash

By Sarah Varney • September 6, 2022

Social media posts criticize 988 suicide hotline for calling police. Here’s what you need to know.

Social media posts criticize 988 suicide hotline for calling police. Here’s what you need to know.

By Aneri Pattani • August 11, 2022

What we know about how monkeypox is spreading — and what we still don’t know

What we know about how monkeypox is spreading — and what we still don’t know

By Madison Czopek • August 5, 2022

Three things about the abortion debate that many people get wrong

Three things about the abortion debate that many people get wrong

By Julie Rovner • August 5, 2022

Everything you need to know about Paxlovid — especially, should you take it?

Everything you need to know about Paxlovid — especially, should you take it?

By Michelle Andrews • August 2, 2022

Three things to know about insurance coverage for abortion

Three things to know about insurance coverage for abortion

By Julie Appleby • July 13, 2022

Gun safety ‘wrapped in a mental health bill’: A look at health provisions in the new law

Gun safety ‘wrapped in a mental health bill’: A look at health provisions in the new law

By Victoria Knight • July 6, 2022

Doctors ‘strongly discourage’ using herbs to induce a miscarriage

Doctors ‘strongly discourage’ using herbs to induce a miscarriage

By Jeff Cercone • July 6, 2022

Explaining a post-Roe legal landscape for medication abortion

Explaining a post-Roe legal landscape for medication abortion

By Victoria Knight • May 27, 2022

Should you worry about data from your period-tracking app being used against you?

Should you worry about data from your period-tracking app being used against you?

By Victoria Knight • May 12, 2022

Cataloging the political and policy uncertainties of the Roe decision leak

Cataloging the political and policy uncertainties of the Roe decision leak

By Julie Rovner • May 3, 2022

Ruling on mask mandate highlights limits of CDC’s power

Ruling on mask mandate highlights limits of CDC’s power

By Julie Appleby • April 22, 2022

The CDC’s new guidelines on COVID-19 risk and masking send confounding signals

The CDC’s new guidelines on COVID-19 risk and masking send confounding signals

By Colleen DeGuzman • March 9, 2022

What patients can learn with confidence from 1 rapid test (hint: very little)

What patients can learn with confidence from 1 rapid test (hint: very little)

By Julie Appleby • January 14, 2022

Ask KHN-Politifact: Is my cloth mask good enough? The 2022 edition

Ask KHN-Politifact: Is my cloth mask good enough? The 2022 edition

By Victoria Knight • January 12, 2022

NyQuil isn’t a cure-all for omicron variant

NyQuil isn’t a cure-all for omicron variant

By Gabrielle Settles • January 7, 2022

Events within and beyond Joe Biden’s control stymied progress on COVID-19 in his first year

Events within and beyond Joe Biden’s control stymied progress on COVID-19 in his first year

By Victoria Knight • December 20, 2021

When it comes to COVID-19, is it time to change the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’?

When it comes to COVID-19, is it time to change the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’?

By Victoria Knight • December 6, 2021

Why you can’t find cheap at-home COVID tests

Why you can’t find cheap at-home COVID tests

By Hannah Norman • November 23, 2021

What do we really know about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness?

What do we really know about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness?

By Julie Appleby • October 29, 2021