Although neither the House nor the Senate
passed a health care bill by President Obama’s
August deadline, various pieces of legislation
have made it through committee, and they provide
a concrete basis for analyzing what the proposed
health care reform would and would not
do. Looking at the various bills that are moving
on Capitol Hill, we can determine the following:
- Contrary to the Obama administration’s repeated
assurances, millions of Americans
who are happy with their current health insurance
will not be able to keep it. As many as
89.5 million people may be dumped into a
government-run plan.
- Some Americans may find themselves forced
into a new insurance plan that no longer includes
their current doctor.
- Americans will pay more than $820 billion
in additional taxes over the next 10 years,
and could see their insurance premiums rise
as much as 95 percent.
- The current health care bills will increase the
budget deficit by at least $239 billion over the
next 10 years, and far more in the years beyond
that. If the new health care entitlement
were subject to the same 75-year actuarial standards
as Social Security or Medicare, its unfunded
liabilities would exceed $9.2 trillion.
- While the bills contain no direct provisions
for rationing care, they nonetheless increase
the likelihood of government rationing and
interference with how doctors practice medicine.
- Contrary to assertions of some opponents,
the bills contain no provision for euthanasia
or mandatory end-of-life counseling. The
bills’ provisions on abortion coverage are far
murkier.
In short, Americans will pay more and get less.
Whatever the variation, however these bills are
merged or compromised, this would be bad news
for Americans.
Although neither the House nor the Senate
passed a health care bill by President Obama’s
August deadline, various pieces of legislation
have made it through committee, and they provide
a concrete basis for analyzing what the proposed
health care reform would and would not
do. Looking at the various bills that are moving
on Capitol Hill, we can determine the following:
- Contrary to the Obama administration’s repeated
assurances, millions of Americans
who are happy with their current health insurance
will not be able to keep it. As many as
89.5 million people may be dumped into a
government-run plan.
- Some Americans may find themselves forced
into a new insurance plan that no longer includes
their current doctor.
- Americans will pay more than $820 billion
in additional taxes over the next 10 years,
and could see their insurance premiums rise
as much as 95 percent.
- The current health care bills will increase the
budget deficit by at least $239 billion over the
next 10 years, and far more in the years beyond
that. If the new health care entitlement
were subject to the same 75-year actuarial standards
as Social Security or Medicare, its unfunded
liabilities would exceed $9.2 trillion.
- While the bills contain no direct provisions
for rationing care, they nonetheless increase
the likelihood of government rationing and
interference with how doctors practice medicine.
- Contrary to assertions of some opponents,
the bills contain no provision for euthanasia
or mandatory end-of-life counseling. The
bills’ provisions on abortion coverage are far
murkier.
In short, Americans will pay more and get less.
Whatever the variation, however these bills are
merged or compromised, this would be bad news
for Americans.
Michael D. Tanner is a senior fellow with the Cato Institute and coauthor of Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It (second edition, 2005).