The True Cost of the House Health Plan in Pictures

Conn Carroll / July 15, 2009

Commenting on the delayed start to the House’s health bill spending, The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein writes: “The slow start is a way of holding down costs in the 10-year budget window.” Of course, Ezra does not  mean that the House bill actually holds down health care costs in any real way. No, what he means is that by waiting till year 4 of a 10 year year forecast, the Democrats are gaming the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring system to hide the true cost of their bill from the American people.

At $1.3 trillion dollars over ten years, most Americans will think the House plan will cost about $130 billion a year. They have been mislead. In reality, by 2019 the House health plan will cost $245 billion a year.

As CBO Director Doug Elmendorf has told Congress just last month, expanding coverage without more fundamental reform (more…)