Wapo - "How Much the Baucus Bill Costs -- and Why the Numbers Differ"

[TomCADem]

Here is nice discussion of the numbers of health care, plus a discussion about how to make the House Bills deficit neutral in the short term:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/09/how_much_the_baucus_bill_costs.html

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As long as we're in math class, here's a bonus extra-credit question: The House bill would increase deficits by nearly $240 billion over the next decade. What simple change would make that bill balance?

That's right, health-care fans: Remove the 10-year pay raise for Medicare doctors. If the House bill only raised their pay for one year, as Baucus does, the bill would shift pretty easily into deficit neutrality. And, despite the screaming that would emanate from the American Medical Association, some House Democrats are proposing to do just that.

But the House bill would still have big problems after 2019, when it would quickly fall into deficit again. Baucus's package of tax hikes and spending cuts, on the other hand, would grow faster than the cost of expanding coverage, making his proposal the only one so far that would keep Obama's promise not to make future deficits worse.

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