March 30, 2012
That’s what readers of today’s Washington Post column by Michael Gerson must conclude. After all, he tells readers that President Obama has done nothing to reduce the cost of government health care programs. If he had heard of the Affordable Care Act, then he would know President Obama had actually done a great deal to control the costs of these programs, as shown in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) baseline budget projections which show spending if the cost control mechanisms in the ACA are left in place. These had the effect of reducing the projected 75-year shortfall in Medicare by more than 75 percent.
It would also be worth reminding readers that Representative Ryan’s Medicare plan is projected to hugely increase the cost of providing health care to seniors. CBO’s projections imply that Representative Ryan’s plan would increase the cost of providing Medicare equivalent policies to people over age 65 by $34 trillion over Medicare’s 75-year planning period.
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