Here’s the main takeaways from the CBO analysis:
- The total cost to the taxpayer would be 61 billion (as Hot Air notes, this is opposed to the 1.2 trillion of taxpayer money that the Democrats want to spend).
- The plan will essentially keep the total percentage of insured individuals at around the current percentage of 83% (The Democrat’s main selling point on their version is that it will insure 96% of the population – including illegal immigrants).
- Premium rates would decrease across the board.
- The plan assumes tort reform, no government-option health care, and the ability to buy insurance across state lines.
In other words, there is no way whatsoever that the Democratic party in Congress is going to support this plan: it clashes horribly with the current ruling party’s shrill insistence that we are in a dire crisis with regard to health care, which just happens to require a solution that will eventually result in no private insurance and a state-run health care system. It also directly affects the economic well-being of trial lawyers, which will hurt that group’s ability to make political contributions, which will hurt the Democratic party. So, expect to see much made of the fact that the GOP plan will not expand coverage, and a good deal of pounding the table and shouting about deficit reductions. Expect to not see much made of the fact that this plan will mostly leave people – and their bank accounts – alone about their health care decisions…
Moe Lane
PS: Twelve hour online GOP health care forum starts at 1 PM.
PPS: You should be up to page 1,062 on the Democrats’ health care rationing bill by now.
Crossposted to RedState.