Health Reformers Get The CBO Score They Want
After an embarrassing miscue, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee can now say near-universal should be achievable at a relatively low cost. Last month, HELP Democrats asked the Congressional Budget Office to score an incomplete version of its health care reform bill--one that had been voided of its most controversial provisions. The results were embarrassing. They suggested that the bill--which lacked an employer mandate and a public option--would leave many uninsured, at a nonetheless tremendous cost.
Now, the committee has received a new CBO score--this one of the complete bill--and the results are much, much better. At a glance, they imply that the HELP bill will cover most Americans at a cost of just over $600 billion, but as TNR's Jon Cohn explains, the results are actually a bit more complicated than that. His conclusion? As experts expected, a comprehensive reform package will likely cost about a trillion dollars over 10 years. That may sound like an unholy amount of money, but as a percentage of the next 10 years worth of overall health care spending, it's a drop in the bucket.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Sen. Hagan is still opposed to the public option because she has a fear of destabilizing the helath insurance industry. I call her office twice weekly. Please help the cause and I ask you to contact her office. Her fear really needs to be that she is destabilizing turning NC back to a red state if she opposes health reform. She is deep into their pockets with a long history of accepting the big bucks!
July 2, 2009 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Go take a look at that chart on monopolization from a couple of days ago if you want to see what she really means. BCBSNC controls 53% of the market and one other company controls twenty something more. Allegedly non-profit BCBSNC, totally uses its monopoly power wisely, however. Why it only paid its CEO four million emeffing dollars last year and only paid the next eight most highly paid executives nine million more.
Kind of makes this whole 'tude she's been copping make sense.
July 2, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Somebody needs to complain to the IRS. Non-profits can lose their status if they pay their top executives too much.
July 2, 2009 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
The question then becomes will Republicans stand by their original support of CBO numbers or abandon their love affair with CBO reports?
My guess is they will ignore the newest report and keep professing the report that doesn't include the public option.
July 2, 2009 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
They'll completely ignore it.
I'm trying to figure out why we're not hearing about the House Bill being scored. Does anyone know?
John
July 2, 2009 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Do you really have to ask?
July 2, 2009 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm. Another example, perhaps of the chessmaster v. team tiddlywinks? First a CBO report says $1.3 trillion for an incomplete plan without mandates or a public option, and the Rs wet themselves in their excitement to argue that mandates and a public option are too expensive, then the CBO says the price is half with the mandates and public option. Now, we just watch as the Rs continue to destroy any credibility they have as they desperately try to rally their shrinking base of about 20% of the country.
July 2, 2009 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
And here's Obama's reaction to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's "universal coverage" bill:
A "radical restructuring" would meet "significant political resistance," Obama said, and "families who are currently relatively satisfied with their insurance but are worried about rising costs ... would get real nervous about a wholesale change."
(from today's Portland "Oregonian.")
In other words, don't get your hopes up on insuring all Americans unless it's an employer-based system--which basically leaves workers wage slaves who are unable to change jobs once they've got a "pre-existing condition." No mention from Obama about what happens when Wal-Mart or Home Depot or Kroger's cuts you to part-time after you've got diabetes or cancer.
July 2, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Cue the ReThugs to turn on a dime and forget how much they praised the CBO in the past few weeks.
Now it will be a partisan bunch of hacks who got pressured by the Dems and don't know what they are talking about.
THIS is different.
July 2, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink