Budget umpire: Health care bills would raise costs

[adnelson60087]

Source: The AP

WASHINGTON – Democrats' health care bills won't meet President Barack Obama's goal of slowing the ruinous rise of medical costs, Congress' budget umpire warned on Thursday, giving weight to critics who say the legislation could break the bank.

The sobering assessment from Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf came as House Democrats pushed to pass a partisan bill through committees, while in the Senate a small group of lawmakers continued to seek a deal that could win support from both political parties.

With the pressure mounting on all sides, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dismissed as "a waste of money" a television ad campaign by Obama's political organization aiming to nudge moderates of both parties off the fence. He called it "Democrats running ads against Democrats." A spokesman later said Reid has no problem with the effort.

From the beginning of the health care debate, Obama has insisted that any overhaul must "bend the curve" of rapidly rising costs that threaten to swamp the budgets of government, businesses and families.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul

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Single Payer....Single Payer.....Single Payer is the ONLY real option here! Let's see the "Budget Umpire" run THOSE numbers!

[farmboxer]

1. Wendell Potter told it like it is on Democracy Now!

I watched it tonight on FSTV.

[Vinca]

2. The cost of health care will never go down as long as the insurance

companies are involved. Single payer would make the most sense from both an economical and universal coverage standpoint, but that doesn't fill the campaign coffers so it's not even considered. Maybe we need to raise money to buy off Congress like big insurance does.