The Health Care Bills, the Fine Print, and a Troubling List of Budget Gimmicks

Julie Appleby has an important article today at Kaiser Health News.She has identified an important and before unreported issue in the Senate Finance health care bill.In order to keep the cost of the plan down, the Senate Finance bill literally locks in the erosion of insurance subsidies for middle class families.From her report:"The first year the legislation would take effect, people getting

Congress Taking a Second Look At Changing the Way Health Benefits Are Taxed--Good--But We Can't Tax Our Way to Health Care Reform

As you have heard me say many times, paying for health care reform is the real challenge. An Obama campaign-style health plan will likely cost at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.Until I see some constructive progress on how we pay for health care reform I cannot be optimistic the latest health care reform debate is going anywhere.Where we stand today is that the Congress and the

Anybody Know Where We Can Find a Quick Trillion Dollars?

"Irrational exuberance" over the chances for health care reform meet the budget realities.The House and Senate Budget committees have begun work on the federal budget.Last week’s CBO report estimated the Obama budget would:Produce a nearly $9.3 trillion deficit over the next decade.Generate annual budget deficits of nearly $1 trillion in each year from fiscal year 2010 to 2019.Increase budget