FixHealthCarePolicy

Sen. Baucus Admits No Senator Can Understand Health Bill

Today on the Senate floor, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) admitted that no Senator can understand the health care bill or should be expected to. To watch the video, click here.

Tags: health care, Sen. Max Baucus, Senate Health Bill

Morning Bell: Obamacare Invades Your Wallet

This Morning Bell is the first in a five-part week-long series on how Obamacare will affect you.

Throughout his campaign, and even in to the first few months in office, President Barack Obama repeatedly promised the American people that his health care plan would reduce their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It has been a while since President Obama made that promise, and any honest look at the health legislation being considered in Congress explains why. (more…)

Tags: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Sen. Max Baucus

“Reform” Means You Pay More for Health Care

A major new report confirms the worst fears of many: Health care reform will raise the costs for most Americans—by about 18% on average. That is on top of existing inflation of health coverage.

Once the plan is fully phased-in (by 2019), a typical family of four would pay an extra $4,000 each year.

When combined with existing inflation, costs would rise from today’s $12,300 annual average to $25,900. Of that 111% increase, $9,600 is due to existing factors uncorrected by the legislation, and $4,000 due to additional costs created by the legislation. (more…)

Tags: AHIP, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Sen. Max Baucus

Senate’s Health Care Reform Has Unknown Costs

The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) preliminary analysis of the conceptual framework (not a complete bill) for the Senate Finance Committee’s health reform has been pegged to only cost taxpayers $829 billion over the next 10 years. But as Heritage and other health policy experts point out, there are a lot of hidden costs that aren’t being reported.

In a newly released Web memo, Heritage health policy analyst Greg D’Angelo points out the latest CBO estimate of the Senate Finance Committee legislation, penned by Chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), is subject to change. Even with the amendments added into the legislative framework, D’Angelo quotes the CBO report that the proposal “has not been embodied in legislative language.” Therefore, lawmakers can and likely will make changes that alter the final price tag, writes D’Angelo, who also examined CBO scores for other health reform bills in Congress.

Health care economist James Capretta, with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, highlights in a new blog the CBO projection assumes Congress will follow through with Medicare and Medicaid cuts. History shows that when lawmakers made “arbitrary, across-the-board cuts, it was only a matter of months before they were scrambling to restore the cuts.” Restoring cuts in Medicare physician fees would add more than $200 billion to the plan’s bottom line, Capretta notes.

Also, Capretta mentions a so-called “firewall” within the Baucus legislation. 

“CBO’s assessment of the Baucus bill is built on the dubious assumption that Congress can hand out a lucrative new entitlement to a limited number of low- and moderate-income voters while denying it to tens of millions of others.

…All but the smallest employers would be required to offer qualifying coverage to their full-time workers to avoid hefty taxes, and the employees would have no choice but to take what is offered to avoid paying a penalty tax themselves.  The“firewall” thus prevents workers from exiting employer-based plans for the exchanges.”

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote Tuesday on the legislation.

Tags: CBO, health care reform, Sen. Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee