Congressional Budget Office

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Why This Bill Is Right &mdash;and Why It's Wrong
Why This Bill Is Right
—and Why It's Wrong
The final push

Why This Bill Is Right —and Why It's Wrong

Pundits make closing arguments on health care before vote

(Newser) - This weekend's vote on health care reform is the main agenda for today's pundits:
  • Eugene Robinson, Washington Post : "If health-care reform finally staggers across the finish line, it will be because President Obama and congressional Democrats recognized—at long last—the truth that has been staring them in the
...

CBO Numbers 'Thoroughly Gamed' and Useless
CBO Numbers 'Thoroughly Gamed' and Useless
opinion

CBO Numbers 'Thoroughly Gamed' and Useless

The health bill is a fiscal time bomb, writes Megan McArdle

(Newser) - Under reconciliation rules, Democrats had to improve the budget numbers in the health care bill by $1 billion. Surprise, surprise: Today's CBO analysis shows "they improved it by exactly $1 billion," writes Megan McArdle. She sees it as further proof that "the CBO process has now been...

3 Big Myths About Health Care Reform
 3 Big Myths About 
 Health Care Reform 
PAUL KRUGMAN

3 Big Myths About Health Care Reform

Don't be taken in by misinformation, warns Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Health care reform has made a miraculous comeback but its opponents are going to try to hoodwink the public with misinformation and lies down the home stretch, writes Paul Krugman. He outlines "three big myths" about reform in the New York Times .
  • "The government is grabbing control of
...

Obama Will Create His Own Deficit Panel

But it'll be weaker than the one the Senate rejected yesterday

(Newser) - In his State of the Union address tonight, Barack Obama will announce the creation of a panel to devise recommendations for reducing the national debt—a day after a proposal for a similar commission failed in the Senate. But Obama’s version will be established by executive order, and, unlike...

CBO Predicts Hefty Deficit, Jobless Figures

Senate, meanwhile, rejects bipartisan panel on red ink

(Newser) - The CBO issued some bleak news today about the economy and prospects for a quick recovery. The nonpartisan agency predicted a $1.35 trillion budget deficit this year—on par with last year's record of $1.4 trillion—and unemployment averaging 10.1%. The forecast for next year doesn't look...

Senate Deal Includes 'Triggered' Public Option

Option will be revived if insurers fail to provide nonprofit plans

(Newser) - The Senate compromise on health care reform means the public option is dormant but not dead, according to an aide party to negotiations. The tentative deal reached last night will give insurance companies the option of creating nonprofit insurance plans to be offered on exchanges, but a federal public option...

CBO: Most Premiums Won't Rise Under Health Bill

People under employer plans will see rates fall or remain steady

(Newser) - Fears that the health bill before the Senate will send the cost of most health insurance plans skyrocketing are unfounded, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. The CBO found that premiums for people covered by employer plans will remain steady or drop slightly under the bill, while people buying...

CBO Estimate: Senate Health Bill Costs $849B

Figure clears the way for Reid to get measure rolling

(Newser) - Legislation headed to the Senate floor would extend health care coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $849 billion over a decade, says a senior Democratic aide. The long-awaited figures come from the Congressional Budget Office, clearing the way for Harry Reid to move forward. The bill...

GOP Health Plan Would Leave 52M Uninsured

Bill saves some money, expands coverage by only 3M

(Newser) - The GOP health care bill has no chance of passing—but if it did, most people who already have coverage would see their premiums drop, while 52 million Americans currently uninsured would stay that way. So says a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which largely confirms Dems' claims...

Why the Public Option's Still Alive
 Why the Public 
 Option's Still Alive 
Nate Silver

Why the Public Option's Still Alive

Polls, time, and activism keep popular concept on the table

(Newser) - Reports of the public option’s demise look to have been exaggerated. Nate Silver breaks down what revived it at FiveThirtyEight.com:
  •  “The tireless, and occasionally tiresome,” advocacy from liberal bloggers and interest groups.
  • The CBO thinks it will save money.
  • The shift of focus from the
...

Pelosi Fighting for Stronger Public Option

Plan with Medicare-linked option would cost only $871B

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi is on a mission to pass the strongest public option on the table in the House—a plan that would pay doctors the same rates as Medicare—and she's close to having enough votes, she told fellow Dems last night. The plan would cost just $871 billion, according...

Public Option Now Has Legs in Senate
 Public Option Now 
 Has Legs in Senate 

so much for baucus bill

Public Option Now Has Legs in Senate

Hostile insurance industry pushes Dems to consider grab-bag of proposals

(Newser) - The public option, left for dead by the Max Baucus bill that passed the Finance Committee just weeks ago, has a new lease on life in the Senate. Credit goes to a CBO report underwhelmed by that bill's efforts to encourage competition, and a big power play by the insurance...

CBO: Baucus Bill Would Cut Deficit by $81B

Projection is good news for Democrats

(Newser) - Good news for Democrats and Max Baucus: The Congressional Budget Office says the Senate finance panel's health care bill won't add to the deficit. In fact, the CBO says the bill would reduce it by $81 billion over 10 years. That should make it easier for Baucus to push his...

CBO Is Usually Wrong on Health Reform Numbers
CBO Is Usually Wrong on Health Reform Numbers
Analysis

CBO Is Usually Wrong on Health Reform Numbers

(Newser) - The Congressional Budget Office is a much-respected institution, and its integrity is beyond question, but it’s got a really lousy record when it comes to estimating the effects of health care reform, writes researcher Jon Gabel in the New York Times. It has drastically underestimated savings from each of...

US Deficit Soaring to $1.6T This Year

(Newser) - Here's the latest eye-popping number produced by the recession: $1.6 trillion. The White House and CBO today projected that figure as this year's deficit, reports the New York Times. While it would be the biggest since World War II, the figure is actually about $260  billion better than anticipated...

CBO Slams Dem Move to Lower Health Costs

Nonpartisan group says Medicare panel would save little cash

(Newser) - A White House proposal to give an independent panel the power to rein in Medicare spending would save the country almost no money over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office declared today. The nonpartisan group’s findings—that savings would total only $2 billion from the $1 trillion program—dealt...

Baucus Hustles Health Industry for Savings

'Shakes down' docs, hospitals, pharma to help trim cost of plan

(Newser) - Max Baucus is “shaking people down” to pay for health care reform, one industry insider tells Politico, pressuring hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors to find savings. “They’re playing hardball, and they’re serious about it,” the insider says. The drug maker trade group PhRMA has...

Cap-and-Trade Bill 'Biggest Tax in US History'

(Newser) - The cap-and-trade climate legislation that could come up for a House vote tomorrow makes no economic sense and “is likely to be the biggest tax in American history,” write the editors of the Wall Street Journal. Democrats are defending the bill with an incomplete Congressional Budget Office estimate...

Senate Hits Brakes on Health Care

(Newser) - Would-be health care reformers had a bad day yesterday, hitting a series of obstacles that makes hitting President Obama’s August deadline increasingly unlikely, Politico reports. The Senate Finance Committee said it wouldn’t have a package before the July 4 recess, and the Congressional Budget Office slapped a $1....

Fight Looms Over Plan to Give Loan Funds to Students

The administration wants to cut out private lenders, setting up a showdown

(Newser) - President Obama's plans to end a subsidized student-loan program—diverting billions of dollars in profits for private lenders like Sallie Mae to scholarships for needy students—is prompting howls of protest from lenders and setting up a Congressional showdown, the New York Times reports. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that...

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