CBO: HCR knocks $130 billion from deficit, extends Medicare solvency
The new CBO scores are out on the health-care bill, with good news for Democrats. The overall cost of health-care reform is estimated at $940 billion, but when compared to savings, the net deficit reduction in the first ten years is $130 billion, with an estimated $1.2 trillion saved in the second ten.
More significantly, CBO estimates that Medicare spending will drop by 1.4% per year, an estimated 32 million people will be covered, and would extend Medicare's solvency by an additional 10 years.
Based on the specifics in the report (PDF), it appears that the "Cadillac Tax" is effective in 2018, but it's not clear what limits will be used to determine the premium threshold, Louisiana Medicaid funding remains intact, but the Nebraska subsidies have been removed.
Republicans are in a bit of a bind now. Democrats can rightly characterize this legislation as a landmark "deficit reduction act" which also happens to extend health insurance coverage to 32 million people. That leaves Republicans having to argue against extending coverage to 32 million uninsured while strongly regulating private insurers, and saving money at the same time.
For the moment, it appears they are in a deep state of denial. Meanwhile, the SEIU has endorsed the bill, and an AFL-CIO endorsement is pending.
Either way, it's a win for Democrats, and it looks like they'll head toward a Sunday vote.
Betch won't hear that on Fux Noise.
..republican'ts vote for it either. After all, they're the party that creates deficits not fixes them.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
A policy of no.
news piece..It can truly be called a Budget Deficit Reduction Act...
This is a refute of the lies...:http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/18/90630/myths-and-misrepresentations-about.html
and see how they arrived at their numbers, we already know we can't trust many numbers put out such as the GDP, the CPI, and unemployment. Did the CBO take into consideration that the retiring baby boomers 75 million strong set to retire out number the supporting Gen-X by a full 1/3rd?
In other words more sellers than buyers, Gen-X's tax base will be stressed to the hilt as it attempts to cover the largest retiring generation in history. I wonder if the CBO took into consideration that both social security and medicare we're based on lower life expectancies when they were created, people live longer today and already the system is stressed by this fact.
I'll reserve judgment on the CBO report until I know how they came to their conclusion. I'm interested in seeing how by spending $940 billion will end up saving us $1.2 trillion. Taxes? Our tax base is so stressed now that social security is paying benefits via deficit spending.
You guys the wagon wheels are coming off on our global economy and this report on the surface seems to ignore a lot of factors. For example it would appear we will be bailing out Greece now or that Bernanke has lost his mind and wants to remove FRB restrictions.
You kind of need to look at the whole picture
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
.. and then get to work on some REAL Health Care Reform ..
Support Alan Grayson's Public Option Medicare Buy-In.
.. and Kucinich's efforts to establish the single-payer option on a state-by-state basis.
.. and Sander's efforts to strengthen the Community Health network.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
..what he said..
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
The work never stops. Not ever.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... I'd like a little less of the Sisyphus cachet, however, and more of the Apollo Project.
yeah .. we'd all prefer a little Apollo Action ..
.. but somebody's gotta keep rolling that rock up the Hill !
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
Ono, not Apollo action! The olympics are over.
that would have allowed states to go the single-payer route. States can still try, but it will be much more difficult now. Obama has done all he could do to make this bill as awful as possible; he seems to having an ongoing need to punish the middle class. He has been a horrible president for the middle class. HUGE regrets that I voted for him; with Hillary we would have had at minimum a public option or expanded Medicare by now. She is not as corrupt and not an authoritarian neoliberal like Obama and wouldn't have simply shut out progressive voices and ignored the desires of the people who voted her into office, 85% of whom wanted a public option.
It's an awesome idea
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
Pus Phlemball, Glenda, Orangeglow Boner, Can'tor, Frank Burns McConnell and all of the other Regressives have been screaming for a year that health care reform would cost trillions, bazillions, gadrillions of dollars. What's going on? Who's telling the truth? Who are we supposed to believe, anyway? An impartial, nonpartisan CBO or politicians and media bloviators who are in the insurance industry pockets? I'm confused.
... 'till Obama's signed it and the ink is dry.
The Republicans are going to double-down on the 'deem and pass = illegal' meme.
..way with all that's going on right now? I still think its a ploy to woo some more representatives away from the dark side and into the yes column.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
It's not like they can admit they were wrong.
..a year. I guess we'll just have to wait a few more days. I don't know if I can stand the suspense any longer especially with so many other issues to get moving on.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
republican in I think Colorado saying that the republicans were always for single payer. I guess that will be the next big lie.
..how could they, in good conscience, be against it. There's still no public option so their health company masters must be happy at the least about that. And if they don't vote for it, doesn't this report make it difficult to campaign against..oh wait, they'll rewrite history and they'll make it sound like they worked so hard for America while the D's sat on the sidelines.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
Oh, that's right. The CBO never ran those numbers. Maybe someday.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
oh, right, because this should have been a battle about rights not the deficit.
i would rather ADD money to the deficit (to be balanced by slashing DoD and DEA funds) then crow about the amount of money we will be saving by pushing thru a bill that subsidizes the health profiteers with our tax money
*say hello to the bad [lefty] guy*
but a true "win" for the american people would have been a strong public option plan, or extending medicare availability to everyone that needs it, period.
a true "win" for the american people would have been health insurance coverage for all legal medical procedures, not just those deemed "morally" ok.
call me when the democrats grow a spine.
the concept that many of the savings will come by hospitals cutting back/being more efficient/doing more with less, ect, ect. However you want to say it. The hospitals, paticularly big city teaching hospitals like the one I work in, have been taking the brunt of balancing the budget for years now. We've basiclally been balancing the budget on the backs of our hospitals. So now they want more ? I say we do what others have suggested, Barney Frank comes to mind, and cut from the military budget instead. He recently said we still have 3 different ways of blowing up the now defunct Soviet Union. Maybe we could go with 2. Hey maybe none ?
Anyway, gotta go back to working on some uninsured patients, several of whom are much sicker than they would have been if they were able to get preventative care. Oh and there's an "illiegal alien" in the emergency dept with swine flu. But we shouldn't treat him right ?
Thanks for listening.
Crooks and Liars, you are invaluable to my sanity.
and twisting the arms of progressives to capitulate - witness what they did to Kucinich. This isn't about spine, it's about corruption and making deals for campaign cash at the expense of the American people.
Your language is totally confused.
32 million people will be covered, you say, but is that of the 47 million plus that are not currently covered, thereby leaving 15 million not covered. Or are the 32 million people covered by Medicare?
It makes quite a difference.
I would be more impressed at every turn if the only consideration were the health and well being of the American people rather than the apparent well being of the Democrats who are only slightly ahead of the Republicans on MY list of scoundrels.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
I believe, at least from what I hear is that the 15 million who will not have coverage are illegal immigrants.
That's right the Democrats are not much better than the Republicans. This health care overhaul process have borne proof to that. Some examples are the defeat of the bill that would make importation of drugs legal, the missing public option, Lieberman refusing to vote for the Senate version because of the medicare buy-in proposal for those 55 and older, also Max Bacus and his less than honorable behavior in the Senate Finance committee. All of these things taught me that most of these Democrats are dirt bags also.
But I have a special dislike of the Republicans because the really believe in a authoritarian plutocracy and those people have no conscience they are true sociopaths.
out of the plan so none of them will be able to seek medical treatment for flu shots, proper vaccinations for their children, treatment for communicable diseases when they come down with them! Excellent!
Great way to take care of the "public health" there!
I'm liking this bill more and more!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
For projections, they assume:
a) No coverage of undocumented workers;
b) Opt-out of 5% of those eligible;
c) balance covered by either employer plans or thru the exchanges
Total estimated coverage: 95% of US residents with 5% opt-out and the balance being undocumented workers.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/A...
At least in Idaho we won't have to cough up money we don't have in order to further enrich the f'ing corporations!
Of course I still wouldn't have health insurance, but it would sure be a beautiful place to die!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
That looks pretty good but I have my eyes on some train tracks here.
The trains go zipping by, just lay me down on those tracks and poof…
Alice-juice…
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
.
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Medicare is NOT a single payer system either. There's an annual deductible and co-pays.
me-oww!
We still should be VERY concerned about the manditory buy in, the absence of a public option, the delay in providing immediate protection for all against pre-existing conditions.
The Senate bill is nothing short of an insurance written piece of crap, and we should be absolutely outraged that it is what we all are forced to accept after a year of so called debate and hand to hand combat.
I am ashamed of this president for NOT providing adequate leadership to give us a bill that wasn't so damaging to us all. Providing protection against a pre-existing condition and then allowing the insurance industry the right to up the premium 300% is far and away nothing short of a slap in the face of the American public. WE CAN'T AFFORD THIER DAMN PREMIUMS NOW, HOW ARE WE GOING TO AFFORD A 300% INCREASE if we are unfortunate enough to have a pre-existing condition. These insurance fuckwads consider acne a pre-existing condition for Christs sake!
Just get your passport in order, empty your savings out of that sock hidden in the drawer and head to Thailand for a little "health vacation". You'll get great care there for pennies on the dollar! And don't worry about the bill that's passing this Bloody Sunday. Just pay the fine. It's cheaper. This way you don't have to feel like a total chump paying the insurance corporations so they can enrich their Wall Street stockholders even MORE! Plus, you can SEE THE WORLD!!!:
http://www.bumrungrad.com/
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
by a car (a train in Alice's case), or suffering major head trauma or the like, you may be dead by the time you arrive. But at least you'll be out of the United States.
We shall see . It's bullshit but "maybe " better than nothing .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
It won't be so bad. We should all be used to it by now.
Just roll over and assume the position.
If Kucinich can do it, we can do it. Right?!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
That's "bend over" Abby , but you are right , we may as well assume our customary positions , apparently that's where we in this country are most comfortable .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
if there is anything much worth anything. We are now crowing about slashing the budget. I thought this was health care reform. How will this happen with insurance companies able to raise their rates and the government helping those of us who can't pay them pay the increased primiums?
to those who think this isn't much, or doesn't matter, consider this: Alan Grayson's "Public Option Act" is designed to snap into the Senate bill as currently structured.
Medicare took 15 years to pass and ultimately was limited to the elderly. in 15 months, this administration and Congress has managed, in the middle of a deep, deep recession, to move a bill ending discrimination in access to healthcare to the endgame.
It's not small. It's huge.
This bill is a purely PRIVATIZED PLAN, with no public component to expand upon. Obama will do all in his power to ensure Grayson's act is killed just like he did with the public option in the current bill. OBAMA DOES NOT WANT A PUBLIC COMPONENT of any sort; he wants to please his corporate benefactors and ensure that the markets reign surpreme and keep maximizing their profits.
The moderator on the the NPR European hour said Europeans considered this a 'very rightwing' bill and that no European would find it acceptable. With 2 corporatist parties and a corporatist media spewing rightwing propaganda, Americans have lost all sense of what is right and what is left. IT IS A FELONY TO MAKE A PROFIT ON BASIC INSURANCE IN EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED NATION; THIS BILL LOCKS IN A FOR-PROFIT SYSTEM AT EVERY LEVEL, FROM INSURANCE TO HOSPITAL COSTS TO PHARMACEUTICALS. Regarding the latter, Obama personally intervened to kill the drug re-importation act, ensuring Americans will keep paying multiple the amount of what people in every other nation pay.
And it does NOT end discrimination. I have a pre-existing condition and will remain a prisoner of my state for 4 MORE YEARS because I will still not be 'granted' rights to purchase another policy under this bill. When I finally will have the 'rights' to purchase insurance, it will more than likely be UNAFFORDABLE, because there are no cost controls and insurance companies are still calling the shots and are running amuk with rate increases.
My understanding is that price discrimination based on age is still permitted by the bill. Moreover, eliminating "pre-existing conditions" is all well and good, but that's hardly the only item in the insurance carrier's bag of tricks. They have many ways of denying coverage that the bill simply does not address.
Also, Medicare was implemented in one year from scratch.
This bill by it's very terms does nothing significant until 2014.
It's not huge. It's not even small. It's pretty much nothing but a possibility that something might be done years from now.
Unless the government changes its mind between now and then.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
privatized healthcare system and calls it 'reform'. No other nation had the audacity to do so! In every other nation, it is a FELONY to charge a profit for standard health insurance.
Does this mean that an estimated additional 32 million people will be covered? Thirty-two million people are already covered by Medicare according to the information I've been able to find here. Or is the point that Medicare spending will drop though the number of covered Americans remains essentially the same?
balance the budget on the backs of the middle class with regressive taxation on existing plans and new taxes to pay for those receiving subsidies, cutbacks in Medicare, and forcing the average American to pay on 20%+ of their income (on average) out-of-pocket to private companies for medical costs, versus, say, 8% of income via progressive taxation in Germany for comprehensive coverage (includes dental, eye, maternity time etc).
Anyone know where my congresswoman stands today, Kathy Dahlkemper? Last I saw, about a week ago, she was still undecided.
is intended to be a factual statement
Is Sanders going along with this too ? Looked for info earlier but to no avail .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
Bernie is a 'yes',saw him on msnbc a couple days ago.The foot in the door or camels nose under the tent,something like that.
....the fools do not realize,a population that can ,..... not paticipate .............in the 'economy'...,can not keep it viable!..........."we are listening,.......and we're not blind.,......this is your life....this is your time."
Is a failure to communicate.....
I'm for this Bill. I know it's not what we want. But, I'm willing to give it a chance. This will be the first improvement since LBJ.
It is an accomplishment. Yes, it needs improving.
I hate to sound redundant, but politics is the art of compromise.
I see this as a success for the President. I see this as a success for the Democrats. In this day and age, with the way the GOp has been riding roughshod on this country,and it's inhabitants, I'll take this.
It can always be modified. Provided the GOp doesn't get back the WH.
This bill passing will help keep the GOp in the back of the room.
I don't know enough about this bill to make any real comments on it.
But, if this bill stems the tide of over 30k Americans from dyin,then I'll go along with it. If it stops the ins companies from dropping people because they got sick, I'm for it. If it stops the ins companies for doubling and tripling rates, I'm for it.
I know this thing isn't perfect. Probably far from it.
It's a wait and see thing now.
It seems to me, that if the GOp thought this was a good idea , because the Dems were committing political suicide, They'd stop fighting it. They'd let this come to a vote. They'd stop filibustering every god damned thing comin down the pike.
But, they're not.
Again, I'm not sure how much per person, or what this entails.
If it blows up in every ones face, Scrub it. Or, fix it.
These kinda things take time. A long time. And this was a very long time coming.
I understand some folks are pissed of at this because of bigger govt. One thing for sure. If left to the GOp'rs? More people would die.
And all the Paulbots can kiss my azz.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
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