Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A Word on Health Care Costs

House Minority leader Boehner recently was quoted "Health care reform is not affordable...what this is going to do is bankrupt America."  Aaron E. Carroll gives these costs a little perspective:
  1. All of the healthcare reform bills coming through congress have been scored to be either revenue neutral or deficit reducing according to the non-partisan CBO.
  2. All of the bills come in at about $900 billion over the next decade, or about $90 billion a year.
  3. Tax cuts signed into law in 2001 & 2003 by George Bush came in at $1.35 trillion over 8 years, or about $169 billion per year.
  4. When the Republicans passed Medicare Part D (which was never, ever considered deficit reducing), I don’t remember hearing many concerns from them about the cost. And now, since the Republican party has become the “protectors of Medicare” and has positioned itself never to allow any cuts to Medicare, that could bankrupt America.
  5. Last month President Obama signed a defense appropriations bill for $680 billion for one year which DOES NOT include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Talk about bankrupting us.
  6. We spent about 1.5 trillion on health care through various taxes and tax-breaks in 2008. That kind of spending WILL eventually bankrupt us.
Opponents of health care reform say it's going to break the bank.  Health care reform won't break the bank.  But by doing nothing in favor of the status quo today, health care SPENDING might do just that, tomorrow.

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