Normally I like to end my articles with a video, but today I’ve decided to start with one. Here is HHS Secretary Sebelius clueless about how much new H/C high risk pools will cost:

I guess Pelosi was wrong. Even after the bill was passed, they still don’t know what’s in it.

The Republican Ways and Means Committee put out a report today regarding yesterday’s CMS analysis of the Democrats’ health care bill. Check out a few of the ways in which the health care bill will increase costs. Here is the full report by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The full report is 38 pages long, if you want to read the whole thing, knock yourself out. If not, below are a few key points:

• Health Care Costs Increase: “national health expenditures under the health reform act would increase by a total of $311 billion (0.9 percent) during calendar years 2010-2019.” [Page 4] The actuaries found the law bends the cost curve up by a greater degree than either the House or Senate-passed legislation, despite the Administration’s claim that slowing national health spending was the “single most important” reason to overhaul the health system.
• Over One-Half Trillion in Medicare Cuts: The Medicare actuaries found that the new health law cuts “$575 billion” [Page 4] from Medicare.
• Seniors’ Access to Care Jeopardized: As a result of the cuts to Medicare, the actuaries found, “absent legislative intervention, [providers] might end their participation in the program (possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries).” [Page 10]
• Workers & Seniors Can’t Keep the Health Plan They Have and Like: “We estimate that such actions would collectively reduce the number of people with employer-sponsored health coverage by about 14 million.” [Page 7] Furthermore, 2 million Americans who currently have employer-provided health coverage will be dumped into Medicaid. [Page 3] Additionally, the actuaries predict millions of seniors will lose their Medicare plan because massive cuts to the program will result in, “about 50 percent” of seniors no longer being in a plan. [Page 11].

From Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) here are more negative effects:

• National health care expenditures will increase by $311 billion.
• Health care increases to 21% of GDP by 2019.
• ObamaCare spends more than $828 billion for health care coverage. (CMS didn’t analyze all the tax increases, such as HSAs, FSAs, increasing the AGI threshold, etc.)
• The government will spend $410 billion to expand Medicaid.
• Medicaid enrollment increases by 20 million new beneficiaries.
• 18 million people will be uninsured (excluding 5 million illegal immigrants).
• Uninsured and those employers who don’t offer coverage will pay $120 billion in taxes.
• 50% of seniors will lose their Medicare Advantage plans.
• Some of the Medicare cost-control mechanisms may not be sustainable.
• Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) will run a deficit in 15 years.
• The $5 billion for High Risk Pools is not enough.
• Doctors may drop out of Medicare because of the changes in Medicare reimbursement rates.
• Medicare “savings” may be difficult to achieve.

From Beltway Confidential, via the New York Times, we are told what we already knew: this law was about income redistribution. From the Times:

The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago. [sic] In effect, healthy families will be picking up most of the bill — and their insurance will be somewhat more expensive than it otherwise would have been.

Here is a video of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor discusses the CMS report:

We need to repeal Obamacare in a hurry and start from scratch.

Crossposted