Samuelson: ObamaCare will Increase the Deficit by $1 Trillion

From Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post:

“Studies of various health proposals conclude that their long-term costs exceed their long-term financing. In its second decade (2020-29), H.R. 3200 — the main House bill — would increase federal budget deficits by $1 trillion, estimates the consulting firm Lewin Group. Total health spending would reach 28 percent of GDP by 2029. How can Obama claim to control costs and never add to the deficit? Well, he’d adopt a provision requiring “more spending cuts if the savings we promised don’t materialize.” Sound convincing?

“It isn’t. Congress often enacts automatic triggers to control spending. The triggers usually don’t work. When they might bite, Congress delays or modifies them. Consider one trigger: the “sustainable growth rate” (SGR) that Congress created in 1997 to control doctors’ spending under Medicare. Since 2002, the SGR formula has consistently called for annual cuts in doctors’ reimbursements. Congress has routinely overridden the formula. Now, there’s pressure to scrap the whole SGR”

Since the $1 Trillion in new spending figure scares the public, Obama has moved to a new number, not in any bill of $900 billion.  But the plan will add $1 Trillion to the deficit according to the Lewin Group, known around Washington, D.C. to be among the most liberal of consulting firms.

Perhaps this is why there is such contempt for Obama’s Joint Session of Congress speech — and his promise not to increase the deficit.  Or not to take one single dollar from the Medicare Trust Fund, but ObamaCare cuts Medicare by $500 Billion.

The JOKER strikes again.