Posted on 10/09/2009 8:25:33 PM PDT by FreeKeys
Sen. Max Baucus’s (D-MT) health care overhaul would cost more than $2 trillion. It would expand the deficit. But he has carefully and methodically hidden those facts – so well that he has completely hoodwinked nearly all the major media.
The media are reporting that the Baucus bill would reduce the deficit by $81 billion over 10 years. Wrong.
The Baucus bill assumes that Congress will allow the “sustainable growth rate” cuts in Medicare’s physician payments to occur beginning in 2012. Yet Congress has routinely and repeatedly blocked those cuts, making Baucus’s assumption preposterous. The CBO handled the issue delicately, but essentially said, “Sure, provided that the sun rises in the west in 2012, then yes, this bill would reduce the deficit.”
That means Baucus will come up at least $200 billion short on the revenue side, making his bill a budget-buster.
The media are reporting that the Baucus bill would cost just $829 billion over 10 years. Wrong.
As Donald Marron observes, that number omits as much as $75 billion in new federal spending. It also omits a $33 billion unfunded mandate on state governments.
But the worst part is that the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary cost estimate omits the cost of the private sector mandates in the Baucus bill. In Massachusetts, those costs accounted for 60 percent of the total cost of reform. That suggests the actual cost of the Baucus bill – $829 billion plus $75 billion plus $33 billion, times 2.5 – is well over $2 trillion.
Yet the CBO score pretends those costs aren’t even there. It’s like a mystery novel that’s missing the last 50 pages. And the media aren’t even curious.
In the words of Brad DeLong, why, oh why, can’t we have a better press corps?
ping
What's the times 2.5, a fudge factor from Medicare Part D?
No. He’s saying the admitted costs plus the costs deliberately omitted from the calculations add up to $937 Billion. Then using the test case in Massachusetts, this total in visible government outlays altogether still only represent 40% of what the total actual costs turn out to be. And to get to what the 100% figure is you have to multiply this 40% by 2.5.
“But he has carefully and methodically hidden those facts – so well that he has completely hoodwinked nearly all the major media.”
You can’t ‘hoodwink” someone who wants to be hoodwinked in the first place.
Here are the targeted senators to call:
http://www.rallycongress.com/freedomworks/2435/call-congress-urge-no-vote-on-obamacare/
Tell them to vote NO! for Obamacare.
Hussein seeking to rob us blind.
He and Europe are trying to colonize us again.
Come and get it you prick....we will be waiting.
“Baucus Bill Would Cost More Than Two Trillion”
If Mr. Baucus says it will lower the deficit, it will lower the deficit.
All of you peasants out there, who think that you can think, must really give up your childish notions of having an informed opinion and a say in the government’s actions.
You have elected to high office a group of people who are absolutely brilliant, intellectual, smart and without equal in human evolution.
Do not behave like the childish, inferior, racist beings that your are. Instead, set your eyes on the glowing hope of superior beings who will rescue you from your dull, plodding lives.
Amen
/S/
IMHO
Technically, it will cost an infinite amount of money, since these programs NEVER END!
Mark my words, in the end REPUBLICANS will vote FOR this POS bill.
Good point.
Grrrrr. They better not.
BTW, did you know Aetna actually HAS a healthcare plan called "POS"? Really. Only in this case it stands for "Point Of Service."
OTOH, ANYthing the critters pass which:
(a) ignores: their Constitutionally-mandated job to make commerce, especially in health insurance, among the states regular,
(b) ignores this opportunity to give individuals the same tax breaks as businesses,
(c) undercuts private plans and HSAs,
(d) fails to address lawsuit abuse, and
(e) fails to enable anyone to enjoy the same health plans as unions, government employees and the critters themselves
REALLY IS a POS.
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