Fox's Bill Hemmer refused to accept a U.S. senator's correction and admonishment of the network's misreporting on the health care plans of Congress and congressional staff under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). 

During the fight over the government shutdown and Affordable Care Act, a favorite refrain of the right-wing media and the tea party has been the line that Congress is receiving exemptions and special treatment under the ACA that normal Americans cannot obtain. This is not true -- staffers receive the same employer-sponsored health care that most employed Americans receive. 

A conservative pundit repeated this myth in an October 23 segment on America's Newsroom, and when Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) came on after a commercial break to discuss violence in Egypt, he wanted to correct the record -- but Fox host Hemmer wouldn't allow it.

Near the end of Corker's interview, Hemmer revealed that the senator was displeased with Fox's handling of the Congressional exemption story in the previous segment, saying in part, “You were listening to our program a bit earlier during the commercial break. You took strong exception to the fact that you think Congress is playing by the same rules that regular Americans are playing by when it comes to Obamacare.”

Corker replied, “I think there's been a lot of misreporting and sort-of a myth around what's happening with Obamacare.”

The senator then made three different attempts to tell the truth about congressional coverage.

Each time, Hemmer interrupted Corker. He parroted the myth that Congress receives special treatment and rebuked Corker's explanation with claims that people “get lost” in the facts.

The myth stems from the fact that the ACA requires Congress and its staff to obtain health insurance on the exchanges created by the law but demands they do not qualify for the exchanges' subsidies. The effect of this is that unlike employees of most businesses and organizations, congressional staff would be forced to pay the entire cost of their health coverage -- a "special punishment," in the words of The Washington Post's Ezra Klein. To avoid this loophole, the federal government will continue to make an employer-contribution to the cost of the staffers' new plans. 

Hemmer appeared unaware of the facts, and his line of questioning reflected the broader Fox News philosophy of pushing anti-ACA talking points, regardless of their tenuous relationship with the truth.