CBO Says Medicaid Expansion Would Cost $500 Billion

American Spectator ^ | 7.8.09 @ 11:20AM | By Philip Klein

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Remember last week when the media touted a new cost estimate by the Congressional Budget Office suggesting that Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had found a magic want enabling them to cover 97 percent of the uninsured for $600 billion? Well, we now know that the cost is more like $1.1 trillion, and likely higher.

As I cautioned when the CBO numbers came out last week, the $600 billion estimate did not include the price of massively expanding Medicaid, a costly provision of all of the various Democratic health care proposals. But now the CBO released an additional estimate anticipating that legislation would add 15 million to 20 million more people to the Medicaid rolls. It found that the cost of such an expansion "could vary in a broad range around $500 billion over 10 years." But the catch is that such an estimate is of the anticipated federal cost of the Medicaid expansion. In actuality, the federal government typically pays around 57 percent of the cost of Medicaid, while the remaining 43 percent is picked up by the states.

[massgopguy]

If you go by their estimates for the cost of MediCare, then that number goes up to $1.5 Trillion.

[aShepard]

I call BS!

If the fed could get the cost per person down to $400 per month, that's below what Blue Cross charges for a single subscriber, and about what Medicare & drug coverage costs, for all estimated 47 million uninsured, the math says:

$400 for 12 months = $4800 per year times 47 million recipients equal $225.6 billion per year.

FOR A DECADE, THAT'S $2.25 TRILLION!!!p>

Conveniently the CBO uses the first ten years, while things are being ramped up during the first five years to come up with a lower 10 year number, but once implemented, the on-going rape to the taxpayers is a hell of alot higher!

[KarlInOhio]

And all of that leaves out Medicare and Medicaid underpaying providers, forcing them to jack up the bills for everyone else to cover it. How much extra cost shifting will happen on top of that half trillion dollars?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

I’m 41, male, overweight, family history of cancer, self-employed, self-insured, and pay $160 per month. I figure we could cover all 47 million people for $90 billion a year in a for-profit system.

Now, I have a high deductible ($2500), and I have a $20 copay on my first 4 doctor’s visits (50% coverage on each visit thereafter), so it’s in my own economic best interest to only visit the doctor when I really need him, not for every little twinge or pain. But then that naturally limits overuse of insurance.

No need for Government healthcare, it would be cheaper and easier to just pay for existing medical coverage options...

Maybe I should pitch this to the Obama Administration. I’ll cover all 47 million people for $1.1 trillion over 10 years, if they’ll pay up-front in cash. I’ll pay out the $900 billion in an up-front lump-sum payment (and I’m positive I can get that price down, since it would be all up-front and in cash). I’ll pocket the $200 billion remaining, everyone will have health insurance, no need to worry for the next 10 years, and I’ll be the richest man in the world! It’s a win-win all around!

[Taxman]

And we all must remember, the CBO is in the business of “selling” whatever programs the feds want to implement.

We also must remember that the CBO has NEVER EVER been remotely close to giving an accurate estimate on cost of new programs or revenues FRom new taxes.

Double the figures at least once for true long term costs.

Triple might be more accurate.