Washington Post headlines with "Report: Bill would reduce senior care," and the subheader "Medicare cuts approved by House may affect access to providers."
A plan to slash more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending -- one of the biggest sources of funding for President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health-care system -- would sharply reduce benefits for some senior citizens and could jeopardize access to care for millions of others, according to a government evaluation released Saturday.
The report, requested by House Republicans, found that Medicare cuts contained in the health package approved by the House on Nov. 7 are likely to prove so costly to hospitals and nursing homes that they could stop taking Medicare altogether.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' report, found here, states clearly "The House-approved healthcare overhaul would raise the costs of healthcare by $289 billion over the next 10 years."
The CMS report is a blow to the White House and House Democrats who have vowed that healthcare reform would curb the growth of healthcare spending. CMS's analysis is not an apples-to-apples comparison to the cost estimate conducted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) because CMS did not review tax provisions, which help offset the price tag of the Democrats' measure.
However, the CMS analysis clearly states that the House bill falls short in attaining a key goal of the Democrats' effort to reform the nation's healthcare system: "With the exception of the proposed reduction in Medicare... the provisions of H.R. 3962 would not have a significant impact on future healthcare cost growth rates."
More from The Politico as they go through the report, page by page with updates on their findings:
Last word goes to Representative Dave Camp, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, when he points out the lies the public have been fed about Pelosi's Obamacare bill.
"This report confirms what virtually every independent expert has been saying: Speaker Pelosi’s health care bill will increase costs, not decrease them. This is a stark warning to every Republican, Democrat and Independent worried about the financial future of this nation. I hope my colleagues in the Senate heed CMS’ findings and refuse to rush ahead until any bill under consideration can be certified to actually reduce health care costs."
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