American Morning
CBO finds Dem bill with public option reduces deficit
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) - A preliminary estimate from the Congressional Budget Office projects that the House Democrats' health care plan that includes a public option would cost $871 billion over 10 years, according to two Democratic sources.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/10/21/health.care.cbo/art.pelosi.afp.gi.jpg.jpg caption="Nancy Pelosi, right, here with Harry Reid, proposes a "more robust" public option. The CBO analyzed the plan."]
CBO also found that the Democrats' bill reduces the deficit in the first 10 years.
This new CBO estimate, which aides caution is not final, is significantly less than the $1.1 trillion price tag of the original House bill that passed out of three committees this summer. More importantly, it comes under the $900 billion cap set by President Obama in his joint address to Congress last month.
CBO analyzed what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls a "more robust" public option - one that ties reimbursement rates for doctors to current Medicare rates, plus a 5 percent increase.
At a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday night, Pelosi did not release CBO's preliminary numbers, but told members that CBO told leaders the House bill would cost well below $900 billion. Aides say final CBO numbers could be released on Wednesday.
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Essential services that you depend on for your LIFE can not be in private, for profit hands. We have done this with the police and fire departments. Why should our healthcare be any different? We should take the best parts of many government run healthcare plans from other western civilizations and incorporate them into a plan for us. Lol, what are the arguements against it again? I already can't see a doctor out of my network, so there goes picking your own doctors. I already have a profit oriented panel making major decisions on my health. I already have few if any paid sick days. I already feel like an indentured slave just to have healthcare for myself and family. I want a country where my children and I do not have to worry about healthcare coverage, period. It seems that Canada, Britain and France all have more productive workers because of the peace of mind a national healthcare plan gives their people. What happened to us? These other nations laugh at us because we allow our government to get away with this. I think the real problem is we are forced to work so hard and be in such fear of losing our jobs and healthcare that we can't even begin to take the time and change things. Again, why are we being so stupid and believing everything we hear on TV and radio? Forget the media folks, start thinking with your own hearts and minds, you know the right thing to do for all of us...let's go America....let's get it don for us and our children. Thanks.
Yep I believe the Dems. They are doing all the nuts and bolts of this behind locked doors and without letting the republicans or the public have any real input. They ignore what the overall majority of the public want which is not a government take over of health care. I for one am not looking for forward to trying to survive in a bankrupt and socolist country. Remember last year when Obama was speaking to (I believe) the Service Workers Union and it was being taped. He stated then he wants the single payer system and he also stated that after it is in place that it would take 10 or 15 mabey even 20 years before the insurance companys would be put out of business. Look at the tape, listen to his words. Once again I am not looking forward to living in country molded by liberals and socolists.
I agree with Ken, where is the reform? I can understand the doctors 5% increase, but why should the insurers have subsidies, I give them a subsidy every month when I mail our insurance premium check. Please, for all our sakes, stop all this negotiating and just get it done. We are sinking out here in "average" America. Every month my husband and I sink a little more.
This is double speak. The 250 billion dollars that the dems want to give to the doctors because the doctors claim they are not making enough money is not included in the 980 billion health bill. The new buzz word is the public option. No one is talking about lowering the premiums for people who have health insurance. Premiums are going up an average of 20% next year and will continue going up. Where is the reform. It appears that the health care reform bill will give 483 billion in subsidies to the insurance companies and 250 billion more to the doctors. Reform should lower premiums not give more money to insurers and doctors. If you give doctors higher payments for medicare, medicaid, and a pubic option it will increase medical costs fo everyone. Insurance profits are 400% and doctors make an average of 300k and they need help. Give me a break.