The Senate Democrats, last night, voted to open debate on a health care bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost $979 billion over the next 10 years.
The vote came without any Republican support with 39 opposing and George Voinovich of Ohio not voting. The Republicans do not have enough votes by themselves to filibuster the bill to stop it.
Pennsylvania’s senators, Bob Casey and Arlen Specter, are Democrats.
The Democrats note that the CBO says the act will reduce the federal deficit by $130 billion.
Those who are not Democrat senators don’t seem to be buying it. Not even David Broder of the Washington Post who cites groups such as the Concord Coalition and The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget as among the skeptics.
And after 10 years? Well, the conservative Heritage Foundation estimates the cost over 20 years to be $4.9 trillion.
But despite what Democrats believe, government is not yet the entire economy, and most frighteningly the CBO estimates
The Senate bill, after all, would be funded by increasing fees on insurance companies, drugmakers, medical device manufacturers, hiking the Medicare payroll tax to 1.95 percent on income over $200,000 for indviduals ($250,000 for couples), a 5 percent tax on elective surgery, an excise tax on insurance companies, fees on employers whose workers receive government subsidies to buy insurance, “fines” on those who fail to buy coverage, and cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
Insurance companies, drugmakers etc. are going to pass on the cost and the rich are going to have less to spend and invest albeit many Americans don’t seem to be able to understand that.
Don’t forget what the point of this bill is supposed to be: paying for the uninsured who are now getting medical care via emergency rooms. Granted that’s not the most efficient way of doing it, but greatly hiking cost to cut services doesn’t seem to be a very efficient answer.
The bill still must be passed by the Senate, reconciled with the House and signed by President Obama.