CBO ups health care cost projections
Politico ^ | May 11, 2010 | Jennifer Haberkorn
Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 4:26:34 PM by jazusamo
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Congressional Budget Office estimates released Tuesday predict the health care overhaul will likely cost about $115 billion more in discretionary spending over ten years than the original cost projections.
The additional spending — if approved over the years by Congress — would bring the total estimated cost of the overhaul to about $1 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office expects the federal agencies to spend $10 billion to $20 billion over 10 years on administrative costs to implement the overhaul. The CBO expects Congress to spend an additional $105 billion over 10 years to fund discretionary programs in the overhaul.
The CBO released the estimates in response to a request from California Rep. Jerry Lewis, ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee. A spokeswoman for Lewis said the inquiry was filed before the House voted on the bill.
“[L]arge sums of discretionary spending in both the House and Senate versions of the health care reform bills have not yet been included in estimates by the CBO, rendering it impossible to make informed decisions regarding the outcome of this legislation,” Lewis wrote in a February letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her to postpone votes until the discretionary spending analysis was complete.
The CBO estimated in March that the net cost of the overhaul would be $788 billion over 10 years, but cautioned that it couldn’t make an estimate of the discretionary costs without more time and information.
The figures represent estimates as to how Congress will decide to spend money. The CBO cautions that lawmakers could decide to spend less. They would still have to respect the administration’s nonsecurity discretionary spending freeze.
The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to need $5 billion to $10 billion to implement changes in Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and insurance industry reforms, according to CBO estimates.
The nonpartisan CBO expects the Internal Revenue Service to spend another $5 billion to $10 billion on implementing the rules regarding premiums and cost-sharing credits.
The legislation says that the agencies would receive the funding to implement the programs through the appropriations process.
“The law establishes a number of new programs and activities, as well as authorizing new funding for existing programs,” CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf said in the letter. “By their nature, however, all such potential effects on discretionary spending are subject to future appropriation actions, which could result in greater or smaller costs than the sums authorized by the legislation.”
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But, but but but but . . . all you assholes kneepadded for this shit telling me the CBO said it was deficit neutral.
