FixHealthCarePolicy

Heal the Economy, Start Over on Health Care Reform

As the economy sputters and falters the questions coming up time and again is: What should Obama do? What can Congress do?

They’ve tried spending their way to prosperity and as today’s jobs numbers show, it didn’t work. 3.5 million jobs lost since Obama took office and an unemployment rate that shot up to 10.2 percent is damning evidence, turning the propaganda ploy of arguing for 600,000 stimulus-created jobs into a brazen farce.

They’ve tried to play Washington games with certain sectors and it didn’t work. Cash for clunkers gave car sales a quick pop, but much of it went to imports and in any event it evaporated as quickly as it appeared. Whatever help the first-time homebuyer tax credit provided the housing market is now spent.

Forget what failed in the past, what can they do now? Apropos the health care vote scheduled in the House for Saturday: First, do no harm. (more…)

Tags: cap and trade, cash for clunkers, double digit unemployment, green jobs, Obama Health Care Plan, Obama's failed stimulus

The True Cost of the House Health Bill: $1.5 Trillion

Nancy Pelosi has unveiled the new health care bill in the House after merging together three different versions of legislation. To appease moderate Blue Dog Democrats and to meet President Obama’s oft-stated promise that reform wouldn’t cost more than $900 billion in the first ten years, Speaker Pelosi sought to reduce the $1.5 trillion total cost of the bill. Newsflash: she failed.

The Congressional Budget Office released its preliminary score of the bill and while some in the media have been reporting its net cost of $894 billion, the total cost of health reform legislation is more like $1.5 trillion. So, Speaker Pelosi is essentially right back where she started—with a huge (two) thousand page plan that carries a hefty price tag. (more…)

Tags: Medicaid, Nancy Pelosi, Obama Health Care Plan, Obama's failed stimulus