Beaton did not lose her insurance because she failed to own up to a skin problem in her past. She lost it because, when enrolling in the plan, she had not reported a previous heart condition and did not list her weight accurately.

Obama tells stories of real-life hardships repeatedly, in his speech to a joint session of Congress, during interviews, and at the citizen meetings he has appeared at across the country to generate support for his campaign to rework medical insurance. Beaton's case is just one of the examples Obama cites that mixes fact with fiction.

In reflexively blaming insurance companies, Obama is playing into fears that have become a frightening reality for many Americans. Health insurance is not always the rock-solid guarantee you think you're paying for.

Especially, it turns out, when you don't fill everything out just right.

In Beaton's case, the insurance company opened an investigation after her visit to a dermatologist and just before her scheduled bre