The sound bites are so easy. The explanations are so long.

Nonetheless, if facts matter, give a read to Talking Points Memo’s elaboration on the horror stories about Obamacare-forced insurance policy cancellations:

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President Obama wasn’t entirely right in 2009 when he said that if you like your health care plan, then you can keep it. Some people are going to have their health insurance plans canceled, and it does have something to do with Obamacare.

From a political standpoint, that’s enough to ignite a firestorm. From a policy standpoint, there’s a whole lot more going on here.

What really matters is what happens to the people who are receiving those cancellation letters that congressional Republicans have been parading in front of the cameras?

The bottom line: Almost all of them are going to receive the same or much better coverage, and many of them are going to receive financial help to purchase it.

Bottom line, About 3 percent of Americans will have to buy different plans. It’s indisputable that the plans will be better than the coverage they now have. Some of those, thanks to subsidies, may not suffer financial consequences. But 3 percent of Americans is a large number. Still, said Jonathan Gruber, who oversaw Romneycare in Massschusetts, about the 3 percent:

“We have to as a society be able to accept that,” he told the New Yorker. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s a shame, but no law in the history of America makes everyone better off.”

UPDATE: Still more good reporting on the Republicans’ favorite horror story here. It doesn’t much resemble the repetitious messaging being machine gunned by, for example, Extremist Tom Cotton.

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