The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report today saying that if the Reid bill becomes law the price of non group policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than it would be under current law. The CBO projects that small group and large group premiums would be about the same in 2016 as they would have been anyway as the benefits of the bill would offset some of its
Latest Post
The Senate Democratic Health Care Bill is a “Milestone” on the Road to Cost Containment—If It Is It's a Pretty Small One
The Obama administration is reportedly pleased with a recent Ron Brownstein article in the Atlantic.In it Brownstein praises the Reid Senate health care bill for the steps it takes toward containing costs. He quotes MIT economist Jonathan Gruber who says, “My summary is it's really hard to figure out how to bend the cost curve, but I can't think of a thing to try that they didn't try. They really
Don't Rationalize Busting the Budget--Start Over
I detect a growing rationalization among supporters of the Democratic health care bills: The recent flare-up over when a woman should have a mammogram proves we are nowhere near ready to pass a health care reform bill that will actually control costs. So, why bother?You would be hard pressed to find any health policy expert who isn’t disappointed that cost containment has fallen off the health
The Democratic Health Care Effort--A Political "Charge of the Light Brigade?"
The latest polls are an unmitigated disaster for Democrats even as they're on a fast track to get their health care legislation passed.This from Rasmussen this morning:“Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June.“The
How Can Harry Reid Keep a Straight Face Telling Us His Health Bill Will Reduce the Deficit?
The accounting gimmickry in Harry Reid’s Senate health bill is astounding even by Capitol Hill standards.Reid says his bill will cost $850 billion and reduce the deficit by $130 billion—all over ten years.Based upon the outline Reid gave the CBO that could well be right. But let’s look at it further:Reid delays most of the spending in the bill to 2014—a year longer than in the House. More
Why Isn't the Press Talking About Affordability--For "Ordinary Folks"?
I thought Trudy Lieberman hit the nail on the head in a post she did yesterday at the Columbia Journalism Review entitled, "Missing Persons--How Will Reform Affect Ordinary Folks." Here is a small part of it:The media have talked about affordability mostly in the context of whether the country can afford reform, not whether individuals can afford it. It’s easier for a reporter to write about
The Outlook for a Health Care Bill in 2009
Readers of this blog know of my yearlong pessimism over our getting a trillion dollar health care bill in 2009.With the historic passage of the House bill, are we now on our way to a big health care bill in 2009—or even by early 2010?Clearly, Democrats desperately want to pass a bill. Given their compromise over abortion and the neutering of the public option in the House legislation—things most
