Saturday, August 8, 2009

So what would Obamacare really cost?

One (of the many) sticking points holding back Obama's health care plan is the massive cost - more than a Trillion dollars over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

So how accurate is that estimate? Maybe not very:
The CBO is actually being kind to the would-be reformers. Its analysis likely understates—by at least $1 trillion—the true costs of expanding health coverage as current Democratic legislation contemplates. Over the last few months, my colleagues and I at the consulting firm Health Systems Innovations have provided cost estimates of health-care reform to both Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and we’ve posted these estimates on our website as well. We believe that the Democratic bills currently under consideration in the House and Senate would cost $2.1 trillion and $2.4 trillion, respectively—much higher than CBO’s figures.
Politicians promising us something for nothing? Wildly overstated benefits and wildly under stated costs? Tastes great and less filling?

Well knock me over with a feather.

Hat tip: Cato @ Liberty.

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