TPMDC GAO
Health Care
Repealing 'Obamacare' Would Explode Debt, Says Government Auditor
A new report by an independent government auditor concludes that implementing President Obama's health care law as intended will make a significant dent in the long-term debt forecast.
The report comes as Supreme Court justices weigh striking some of "Obamacare's" central provisions -- and perhaps the law in its entirety -- and as the Republican Party remains committed to repealing the law if it seizes control of government in November.
"[I]f the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is implemented as intended it would have a major effect on the [fiscal] gap but would not eliminate it," the Government Accountability Office wrote in a Monday report -- a conclusion in line with its own past research and similar research conducted by other government and non-government analysts.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, GAO, Government Accountability Office, HCR/SCOTUS, Health Care, Health Care Repeal, Medicaid, Medicare, Obamacare
Health Care
CHART OF THE DAY: Repealing ObamaCare Would Be Disastrous For The Budget
President Barack Obama
The Government Accountability Office has updated its fiscal outlook for the U.S. government and come to some familiar conclusions. The country has a long term imbalance that will have to be addressed, but not until today's economic woes have passed. If Congress simply does nothing -- and allows the Bush tax cuts, and other temporary laws to expire -- the country's fiscal health will improve significantly over the long term.
But the report implies something that's been lost in the recent partisan debate over the country's future: repealing ObamaCare would consign us to swift, ugly fiscal and health care crises.
The health care reform law will extend subsidized private health insurance to millions of Americans, paid for with new taxes and Medicare savings. But it also included numerous demonstration projects and reforms intended to rein in the growth of health care costs, and thus Medicare spending. Some of them have great promise -- if they can survive.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, CBO, Congressional Budget Office, GAO, Government Accountability Office, Health Care, Health Care Summit, Repealing health care
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