Health Bill CBO Score: $849 Billion Over Next Decade

A preliminary Congressional Budget Office analysis of the Senate health care legislation finds that the bill will cost $849 billion over the next decade while covering 94 percent of eligible Americans, a Democratic leadership aide told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

The aide would still not get into the bill's specifics -- including whether it would include a public option for insurance coverage and what tax mechanisms would be pay for it. The aide did, however, say that 31 million currently uninsured Americans would be covered under the legislation. The bill would also lower the deficit by $127 billion over the next decade -- "going further than any other bill" -- and by $650 billion during the decade after that, according to the aide.

By keeping the total cost of the bill under $900 billion, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met one of the conditions set by the Obama White House. The bill, said the aide, is also expected to drastically bend the cost curve in the health care system -- another major Obama objective -- by achieving "almost a trillion dollars in cost savings" within the health care system.

Reid is hoping to officially file the bill and proceed to debate later in the week, but the aide cautioned that it could be pushed to Saturday.

UPDATE: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) told reporters outside a caucus briefing that the bill includes a national public option with an opt-out provision for states, a tax on health insurance plans that exceed $8500 for individuals and $23,000 for families and language on abortion that does not go as far as Bart Stupak's amendment in the House. Conrad seemed supportive of the bill but would not fully commit to voting for it, saying he'd like to see amendments added.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, meanwhile, told reporters a cloture vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate (and amendments) is expected on Saturday.

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Comments

[bannorhill]

07:59 PM on 11/21/2009

Last year Obama said his health care plan would cost $50 -65 billion.

What happened to that promise?

[jcbeeno]

03:20 PM on 11/19/2009

Wow, imagine that. Once again the Sheeple (us) gets the short end of the stick!

RT
www.ultimate-privacy.br.tc

[slowhand0728]

12:22 PM on 11/19/2009

So everyone is OK with almost 20 Million people not being covered? 6% right, we can live with that or is it just for now?

[swengnikaerb]

01:22 PM on 11/19/2009

Many of those are illegal aliens. Some are also the uber wealthy who not qualify. The rest qualify for Medicare or Medicaid.

[Guitar63]

05:33 PM on 11/19/2009

Um, Im pretty sure that illegal aliens don't fit in to this equation...

[huff-fan]

11:51 AM on 11/19/2009

The long-awaited bill differs from the version passed by the House on Nov. 7 in at least three crucial ways.

First, its government plan would permit states to "opt out," whereas the House doesn't.

Second, the Senate measure would raise funds with a variety of taxes, notably a tax on more expensive insurance policies and a boost in the Medicare payroll tax. Neither provision is in the House bill. (Taxes on device makers)

Third, the Senate bill has less restrictive language than the House on abortion.

If the Senate moves ahead with consideration of the bill, the debate is expected to last until lawmakers leave for a holiday recess in late December and perhaps into January.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/70424777.html?page=2&c=y

[JPMac]

09:40 AM on 11/19/2009

Will lower deficit.....BS

Covers 94% of uninsured...how the hell do you spend almost $900 billion (which will be much more than that is history teaches us anything about govt. run programs) and not cover everyone?

[NoFactsJustTruth]

10:13 AM on 11/19/2009

By taking single-payer off the table before the discussion begins. Pure and simple.
And, it's not even really that single-payer would hurt the insurance companies, many European single-payer examples have unlimited insurance companies (some that insure here already also).
No, it's that insurance companies under a single-payer law would be FORCED TO IMMEDIATELY PAY CLAIMS, because OUR Government would then be doing the accounting.

[cybexg]

10:31 AM on 11/19/2009

SO...you believe the CBO when you think it will answer in favor of your view and doubt the CBO when it answers against your view....

[swengnikaerb]

01:23 PM on 11/19/2009

Bingo. Everything and everyone is pure bunk, unless it goes with their brand of ideology.

[DUSAA-1775]

03:25 PM on 11/19/2009

i do not believe ANY cost estimates from our Government. I could pull numbers out of my hat, and those projections would be as good as any.

[NoFactsJustTruth]

09:34 AM on 11/19/2009

A polite question, Sam: It may be just a starting point, but we've been told for quite some time that we have 45 to 50 million of OUR citizens currently uninsured for health care. How is 31 million even close?

It REALLY appears, since ALL the sell-outs won't even discuss single-payer, the only way to keep costs under $900 Million was by telling 15 to 20 Million to get lost and 'DIE QUICKLY' ...just like the republican'ts prefer.

[huff-fan]

11:34 AM on 11/19/2009

Many claim that the 50 million is too high and includes undocumented workers which these bills do not cover.
Single payer was not on the table because the dems. wanted a bill that would pass. We have had enough difficulty trying to sell the public option. Many dems are still opposed to a govt. option. Single payer would mean that those people who are happy with their employer sponsored plans would lose them.

[Guitar63]

05:35 PM on 11/19/2009

Yeah but that last part is just fear anyway. No one is so extatic over their health insurance that they should be worried about switching to single payer. It is only due to the fear and smear campaign going on.

[Tiger-99]

12:02 PM on 11/19/2009

Don't forget to add the 12 million illegal immigrants they will be granting amnesty too next month...

[swengnikaerb]

01:23 PM on 11/19/2009

And Santa will be coming, so be sure to be good....

[BocaMom]

08:00 AM on 11/19/2009

Give 'em hell, Harry! Hold on for the public option! Without the public option, there really is NO REAL
healthcare reform! No matter how anyone spins it.

[vippy]

07:44 AM on 11/19/2009

Seems to me that some people would rather spend this money on another war! Maybe you like to pay half of your take home pay for healthcare premiums, I sure don't. There is no reason we can't have single payer and cut out the healthcare insurance industry and their CEOs making out with $ 17,000 per hour. How can any sane person sanction this?

[Philclock]

06:16 AM on 11/19/2009

Jay Leno:

"The government just announced that the Post Office lost $3.8 Billion last year.

I've got a great idea, let's put the Government in charge of health care!"

[swengnikaerb]

06:26 AM on 11/19/2009

The Pony Express is long gone, want to blame that on Obama too or should we just accept that technology renders such services obsolete?

[Icantbelieveher]

06:38 AM on 11/19/2009

Ignore email and online bill paying services. It's hundreds of years of government mis-management, I tell ya!

[Matthew King]

07:50 AM on 11/19/2009

Yes, mostly mismanaged by conservative do-nothings, who do everything in their power to make sure government fails.

[Philclock]

11:23 AM on 11/19/2009

Medicare managed by government bureaucrats.

Insurance companies controlled by State Regulators, insurance policies mandated by government regulators.

[hilary916]

01:23 AM on 11/19/2009

I got a nice letter from Blue Shield today telling me that as of 1/1/10, all maintenance generic and brand name prescriptions are going up $10; non-formulary, up $30. Now, as an alternative, I can get a 3-month supply for the cost of a 1-month supply, but I have to allow some company named PrimeMail Maintenance mail them to me instead of having my prescription(s) filled at a pharmacy. What to do, what to do. Should I go ahead and pay more monthly so that I don't contribute to a job loss that could very well take place in pharmacies if a lot of people go with PrimeMail, or do I be selfish and try to save myself money on the meds? This is the first time my prescriptions have gone up in 9 years. Why now? Thanks for reading.

[Viper]

03:36 AM on 11/19/2009

Buy over the internet from canada or India and screw them all...

The drug companies outsourced all their labor to countries with single payer healtchare a decade ago...

And you can buy from Costco at much less than even Walmart...

regards

[Icantbelieveher]

06:40 AM on 11/19/2009

I got a letter from Cigna on Monday saying that they would not pay for 30 milligrams of medication that I've taken for over a year, but they would pay for 20 milligrams, because even though it's been working great and the doctor prescribed it, Cigna didn't think I needed that extra 10 milligrams.

[Ashley Gleed]

09:02 AM on 11/23/2009

Hmmm, that sounds a lot like that scary 'r' word...but it can't be, cause only a liberal government would do that.

[Tim303]

01:16 AM on 11/19/2009

Take it from a very frustrated emigre from the UK who has watched in stony eyed disbelief in 1994 as the health care bill went down. This is a good deal, guys. It's not the NHS. But it's a good deal.

[wilsonveteran]

12:18 AM on 11/19/2009

America use to be the land of opportunity. Here if we worked hard we could prosper. It was also a place where you could fail and learn from those failures and then try again.. No more we are now the land of fairness. If you work hard and make a better living than others to make it fair government will take the excess and give it to those who have less. If you can afford health care then the government will come in and take extra to give to those with less because it is fair. No longer do we have to work hard or strive to better our lives because government will make it all fair.

We have also become a nation of victims. We are a victim of the evil Health Insurance companies and it is not fair. We are a victim of Wall street because we wiling gave them our money and our investment did not pay off it is not fair. We are a victim of evil corporations because we buy their goods and its not fair. We are a victim of the rich because we worked for them at a salary and we are not as rich as them it is not fair.

We have become the politically correct nanny state and you all look forward to government making it fair. I hate to wake you up but once government reaches a certain size the only interest it protects is its own

[Tim303]

01:12 AM on 11/19/2009

Go USA! Number 37! Now that's what I call world class nannying!

[lemonyashes]

01:19 AM on 11/19/2009

Oh my, your opinion was one of the st#pidest I've ever read and it is so wrong on so many different levels but I have a feeling you're not bright enough to even try to explain it to you.

[platanoman]

11:02 PM on 11/18/2009

Good work

[Azsin]

10:57 PM on 11/18/2009

make the opt-out voter mandated
think if 2010 is a referendum on healthcare and not on obama!

and if they put up teaparty morons

it would be a conservative nightmare
we would have 80 to 90% turnout
and progressive ideas pass in high ass turnout!

[Guitanguran]

10:38 PM on 11/18/2009

You know...

We could continue trying to fit the square peg of a fiscally irresponsible healthcare package (that still leaves millions out) into the round hole of our wallets, or face some facts

Our current debt is over 12 trillion $s. It's expected to reach $14 trillion next year.

It's doubled since 2002. Republicans and Democrats alike have sold us out.

The unfunded mandates we've promised to our parents, ourselves, our children and our grandchildren is over $105 trillion.

The total profit for the Fortune 500 was $785 billion in 2007. You would have to take all the profit from them for the next 15 years to pay off the current debt. To pay all of those unfunded mandates, we'd have to take all the profit from them for the next 134 years.

That doesn't include interest.

For this reason, our dollar is in danger of total collapse.

It doesn't matter what your political opinion is, this cannot continue.

If you don't tell your government to stop, there won't be any healthcare available to heal us, no schools to educate us, no armed forces to protect us, and nothing left to argue about.

Tell them to stop until we can figure this out. Tell them now.

[mcmutter]

10:42 PM on 11/18/2009

Baby Bush ran up $5.8 TRILLION in debt; and the GOP didn't stop 10 seconds to do anything except cheer him on...and all those expenses were wasted

[Guitanguran]

11:00 PM on 11/18/2009

Did you stop long enough to read the part that said: "Republicans and Democrats alike have sold us out."?

The debt under Reagan was at a Trillion, but don't let facts get in your way.

[SorenB]

11:11 PM on 11/18/2009

Obama is going to blow through $5.8 trillion before next year if he keeps bailing out the banks, allowing the dollar to devalue, funding meaningless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Both Republicans and Democrats are equally to blame.

[vnv00]

02:11 AM on 11/19/2009

I completely agree with you, but at the same time can't see how it is a viable option to "stop until we can figure this out".

We can't just completely stop spending money in Iraq/Afghanistan and pull out immediately despite the fact that I was against both wars in the first place.

We can't not pump cash back into these failing financial institutions unless we want the widespread panic to reach such a frenzy that everyone withdraws there money from the banks and hides it under their mattresses

We can't let these american-based auto companies fail without leaving entire regions of the midwest unemployed to a greater extent than they already are.

I am dissatisfied with the current state of affairs and the rate of spending as well, but I just can't see another viable short-term option. What do you think?