I haven't seen this diaried today so let me know if I just missed this.
It seems the actuaries at the Health and Human Services Department have issued a report today on the impact of pending healthcare legislation.
In part:
A new report from government economic analysts at the Health and Human Services Department found that the nation's $2.5 trillion annual health care tab won't shrink under the Democratic blueprint that senators are debating. Instead, it would grow somewhat more rapidly than if Congress does nothing.
It goes on to say
More troubling was the report's assessment that the Democrats' plan to squeeze Medicare for $493 billion over 10 years in savings relies on specific policy changes that "may be unrealistic" and could lead to cuts in services. The Medicare savings are expected to cover about half the nearly $1 trillion, 10-year cost of expanding coverage to the uninsured.
Now I get that insuring more people means spending more money. Seems obvious to me, and it shouldn't really be a surprise.
But this report seems at best problematic from a PR standpoint. How are the CBO and HHSD reports meant to be reconciled (the CPA in me coming out there)?