Posted on 07/17/2017 9:09:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As the CBO studies the revised Senate healthcare reform bill, both sides of this debate await their prognostication regarding the economics and numbers of covered individuals. Their analysis may provide cover for the difficult political decisions that the spineless Republicans will make regarding any reform legislation. Already, the Washington Post is calling its analysis “fake news” as it fears its analysis will improve the prospects of passage of a revised Senate bill.
The CBO was created to allow Congress an analysis of legislative costs independent of the OMB analysis. The OMB, which can be subject to the political whims of the president and the White House, has often missed the mark on costs and outcomes. Duplication of these services has occasionally provided more accurate calculations. By no means does duplication guarantee cost analysis that is accurate; most often their calculations (as the OMB’s) err on the low side.
The Obama administration sought to use the CBO (which tends toward more progressive assumptions) to justify its Affordable Care Act via its guarantee of higher numbers of Americans covered via ObamaCare, as compared to the previous state-managed private insurance system. At the time, the Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and they believed that the CBO would favor the more liberal line on the ACA. Unfortunately, their analysis is little better than dart-throwing contests. This is because their assumptions fail to understand human behavior.
Basic economic theory teaches us that human behavior can be influenced by certain financial rewards or thwarted by reversal of those benefits. If you subsidize certain activities through financial incentives then more people will attempt them; meanwhile penalizing those activities will reduce that behavior. Such is the case in purchasing healthcare insurance, despite is somewhat inelastic quality.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Maybe because there are no humans at the CBO.
23 Million People will lose their Healthcare Coverage! OMG!!!
No, a lot of People (who really knows the number?), will CHOOSE to not buy Medical Insurance because the Government won’t FORCE them to buy it and they don’t want to pay for it
The is the same CBO that told us Obamacare would not increase the deficit and would reduce medical costs.
The CBO analysis is not a planning tool; it is a public relations (PR) for whoever pushes the agency’s button.
Bkmk
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