GOP Health Care Plan Pulverized By The CBO

[babylonsister]

http://news.firedoglake.com/2009/11/05/gop-health-care-plan-pulverized-by-the-cbo/

GOP Health Care Plan Pulverized By The CBO
By: David Dayen Thursday November 5, 2009 6:53 am


The CBO did a preliminary estimate of the Republican amendment to the House health care bill. There are now hard numbers to compare between the Democratic and Republican notions for health care.

Coverage:
Democrats – 36 million more covered by 2019, 96% of US covered
Republicans – 3 million more covered by 2019, 83% of US covered

That’s pathetic. Because the population is expected to grow over time, under the Republican health care plan there would be 2 million MORE Americans uninsured in 2019 than there are today, according to the CBO (50 million today, 52 million in 2019). But let’s look at cost:

Democrats – $104 billion in deficit reduction by 2019
Republicans – $68 billion in deficit reduction by 2019

The “fiscal conservatives” reduce the deficit LESS than the Democrats in the budget window, under their plan. And in the large-group market, where 80% of Americans get their private insurance, there would be a 0-3% reduction in the cost of their premiums; in other words, almost nothing (although that’s a preliminary figure that CBO doesn’t stand behind very aggressively).

Ezra Klein notes:

The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan. And amazingly, the Democratic bill has already been through three committees and a merger process. It’s already been shown to interest groups and advocacy organizations and industry stakeholders. It’s already made its compromises with reality. It’s already been through the legislative sausage grinder. And yet it saves more money and covers more people than the blank-slate alternative proposed by John Boehner and the House Republicans. The Democrats, constrained by reality, produced a far better plan than Boehner, who was constrained solely by his political imagination and legislative skill.

Watch the Republicans now argue that the CBO estimates don’t matter and that they aren’t comprehensive in their analysis. After eight months of hyping every draft the CBO sent out on the Democratic plan.

UPDATE: Since the amendment could never pass in a million years, I don’t think it’s worth it to cut an ad about it, but Americans United For Change did. A snarky blog post seems about the right level of attention, IMO.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I do not believe this was ever a serious attempt at health care reform by the repukes.

Someone reminded them that they had promised a bill..and Boner....thought this up in the bathroom one night...

[Warpy]

4. No, this was a last minute, slap-dash plan that their

insurance lobbyist cronies wrote for them.

They had 12 years in control of Congress, 6 of them with a President (Clinton) who would have welcomed any attempt at health care reform, no matter how anemic, and they did nothing.

That's about all we need to know about their health care ideas.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Single Payer: Everyone Covered, forever at a lower cost that the Repo or Dem fake reform bills.

I think the Dems should pass the Repo bill today and send it to Obama.

That way 3 million Americans can be covered this week. After all, that's better than nothing.

Then the Dems can keep working on their insurance company sponsored bill and get even more people covered when they get that passed sometime in the future.

That would be incremental reform, right?

[sharp_stick]

7. Incremental reform

is still better than pie in the sky wishes for something that hasn't got a chance in hell of happening, like single payer. What the hell though, keep up the good fight.

[John Q. Citizen]

9. Yep, as long as people will settle for crumbs, real reform will never happen. I agree.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. incremental reform is another way of saying no reform.

[Kablooie]

3. But the Democrats seem to be pushing closer and closer to this kind of plan anyway.

The health plan is being riddled with holes and being watered down so much that I wouldn't be surprised if this is essentially the plan we end up with.

I am losing faith in the Democrats and feel they are simply closet Republicans.
They just take a roundabout route to end up in the same place the Republicans went to directly.

[John Q. Citizen]

10. People say, "Get a back bone." But look at how many DUers are ready to settle for crumbs

Dr. Dean 'It's not what I would have written but it's a start.'

No back bone, no going to the mat.


Duers are willing to take whatever our bribed party leaders tell them is possibe.


As the health care industrial complex gives hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to our Democratic leaders, we say stuff like,
"It's better than nothing."

We have no back bone which is why our bribed and venal leaders have no back bone. They are reflection of the voters, and the American people are willing to be rolled for a song.

Americans don't deserve health care reform, because we won't demand health care reform.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. I LOVE Dr. Dean, and that statement by him was a huge disappointment.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

5. tidbit

Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles is the only one from northern Ohio who has said he will definitely support it.

"This legislation will offer access to quality, affordable health care that can’t be denied," said Ryan, who released a study on Tuesday that estimated the bill would provide coverage for 43,000 of his uninsured constituents.

Cleveland’s Dennis Kucinich, who backs a government-run health insurance system, says the current bill amounts to government subsidization of for-profit insurance companies, and says he hasn’t decided how he’ll vote.

Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur is determining whether its language goes far enough to block tax dollars from paying for abortions, her spokesman said.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2009/11/ohios_leading_doctors_associat.html

[RDANGELO]

6. I think the Republicans have made a mistake here.

If they were going to come out with an alternative, they should have come out with something that has substantial accomplishments. They are giving the public a glaring contrast in the two options. Now they have to defend their bill instead of just bashing the Dem's.

[babylonsister]

8. I do wonder what the 'media' will make of this, or whether they'll

even mention it. If no one talks about it, it'd be like they never presented a bill.

This sure could use some exposure.