Around my house these days, we are working on certain math concepts that have proven irrefutable over the centuries. This week, for example, we have concentrated on multiplication facts, such as 2×3=6. At the parent-teacher conference this week, I was told how important it was to understand these concepts.
Today’s coverage of the House health reform bill makes me think that some members of Congress should take a refresher course in basic math, such as how to add. Today’s Roll Call reports on the real cost of the House bill:
“The House Democrats’ health care plan would cover 36 million more Americans at a cost of $1.055 trillion over the next decade, while slashing the federal deficit overall by $104 billion, according to a preliminary Congressional Budget Office score released late Thursday.
The cost of the bill was a concern to fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, who sent a letter to the CBO asking additional questions about their estimates and what additional measures could be taken to reduce the overall spending on health care.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had touted the bill as costing $894 billion when she released it online earlier in the day, but that number nets out $167 billion in new pay-or-play taxes on individuals and businesses. Pelosi’s office had also said the bill would cut the deficit by $30 billion, but the CBO score came in much better.
The $1.055 trillion cost is offset by $740 billion in new taxes and revenue and a net $426 billion in cuts in spending, largely in Medicare.
The CBO also estimated that the deficit would continue to shrink slightly in the second decade after the bill is adopted, a key issue for many moderate Democrats, although it said that any estimates that far out have considerable uncertainty.
That $1.055 trillion figure only includes the coverage portions of the bill, down from about $1.2 trillion in the original bill.
Other pieces, including the cost of closing the “donut hole” in the bill for seniors under Medicare, come on top of those figures.
The bill also excludes an estimated $245 billion in costs for preventing a 21 percent cut to doctor’s pay under Medicare. Democrats dropped that provision from the bill and plan to move it separately so that they can say the larger bill does not add to the deficit.”
So, $1.055T – $740B – $426B + $245B + ? = $894B. Got it?
Remember, friends, this is courtesy of the same people who are sure that Medicare fraud is $60B per year that Federal agencies cannot seem to stop. What is your prediction when the Federal government adds another $1,000,000,000,000 into the pot?
