Interesting healthcare reform tidbit

[lumberjack_jeff]

One of our biggest apparent concerns with the healthcare reform legislation proposed in HR3200 is the estimate from the CBO that fewer than 10 million people will be insured by the public option.

In contrast, The rightwing Heritage foundation commissioned a study from the Lewin Group, hoping to scare people into opposing the bill. One of their "findings" was that 103 million people will choose it.

I'm optimistic. Maybe they're right... maybe this is the gateway to single payer.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/upload/HouseBillHeritageRevised.pdf

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. Why would someone unrec this?

Insurance company shills, no doubt.

[bkkyosemite]

2. How do you un rec a thread please?

[bvar22]

3. Are you really going to compare...

....the Congressional Budget Office with a partisan propaganda outlet?

Yes, I guess you are.



Who should we believe?

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Don't you find a little bit interesting...

... that the rightwing is trying to scare people into thinking that it'll be more successful than the CBO predicts?

The alternative explanation is that they're correct in considering the CBO estimate conservative.

The only reason I find the CBO estimates plausible is because most people under 400% of fpl won't really care how much it costs... their subsidy will make the public plan exactly the same price as the private plans. The people who might be price sensitive are those over 300%.

If this perverse incentive didn't exist in the bill, the public plan would OWN the market.

I wish the subsidy were set up so that there was some incentive to choose the public option; particularly in the early years, they'll have a 30% price advantage on the private plans.

[dflprincess]

4. The Heritage Foundation being such a reliable source

I often check with them first :sarcasm:

You are aware that the Lewin Group is part of a United Health Group subsidiary, don't you?

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/07/lawmakers-who-c...

MNCampaignReport How United Health Group and the Heritage Foundation are shaping the healthcare debate

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. Yes, I did. And yes, I know they were hired to derail it.

But I think that it's interesting that the sabotage tactic they've chosen is to say that it'll be far more successful than official projections.

I'm beginning to think that the only people invested in its failure are here.