$111 Billion Jump In Cost Of Healthcare Law
-
Republican probes $111 billion jump in cost of healthcare law
Not exactly a surprise
A powerful House Republican wants the Obama administration to explain why it’s asking for an extra $111 billion to implement part of the healthcare reform law.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) is asking about a spike in the estimated costs of subsidies to help people buy private insurance — a central, and expensive, component of the new healthcare law.
The administration’s budget request this year included $111 billion more for subsidies than its request last year. The difference falls across the same seven-year window.
“This staggering increase in health insurance exchange subsidy spending cannot be explained by legislative changes or new economic assumptions, and therefore must reflect substantial changes in underlying assumptions regarding the program’s utilization and cost,” Camp wrote Friday in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
-
How much will all of Obamacare cost?
-
I know this is going to stun some of you, but are you ready?
This isn't true. It's misleading, and only tells part of the story. Here's the whole story:
"After the Affordable Care Act became law, the administration became aware of glitch in the law....Congress responded by amending the law, to redefine who would be eligible for Medicaid.
....As a result, some people who would have gotten their insurance through Medicaid will now get their health insurance through the new exchanges....That makes the overall cost of subsidies a lot higher. Throw in some changes in economic forecasting, and you get that extra $111 billion in subsidies.
But that’s only half the story! The cost of subsidies has gone up, because more people will be getting insurance through the exchanges. But the cost of Medicaid has gone down, because, among other things, fewer people will be getting coverage through that program. Overall, the administration now projects the ten-year Medicaid cost to decline by $272 billion."
So, an additional $111 billion for the subsidies minus the $272 billion savings with Medicare gives you ...a savings of $161 billion.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login