In their paper, Buntin and Cutler predicted that their health care system would create $1.5 trillion in federal government savings over the next decade.
Cutler was appointed to work in the Obama administration in 2009. “Outside academia, Cutler has served on President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and on the National Economic Council,” the Harvard Crimson reported, ”in addition to advising both Bill Bradley’s and John Kerry’s presidential bids. He has been consulting with Obama since at least April 2007.”
In a 2010 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Cutler argued that Obamacare would cut $600 billion in costs over its first ten years, citing the same strategy and tactics he and Buntin laid out in their 2009 policy paper.
Health care reform, he wrote, is “viewed negatively because official scorekeepers do not believe anything on this list other than reducing prices will save much money. The Congressional Budget Office has consistently estimated that policies built around changing incentives and thus encouraging more efficient care will not have any effect on cost trends.”
“My own calculations, mirrored by other observers and a host of business and provider groups, suggest that the reforms will save nearly $600 billion over the next decade and even more in the subsequent one,” Cutler added. He drew those conclusions using cost models that he and Buntin created at Harvard.
Federal Elections Commission records show that Cutler has also been a Democratic donor. He contributed $500 to President Obama’s campaign in 2008.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report incorrectly listed Jonathan Gruber — also a Democratic donor and health care economist — as Buntin’s predecessor at the CBO. He was a member of the CBO’s long term modeling advisory group.
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