Entitlements Do Not Save Money

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

President Obama’s healthcare reform act is about to be repealed by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Democrat’s say this is a meaningless gesture. I do not think so. The House of Representatives is expressing the will of the people. The Harry Reid and President Obama will be exposed as ignoring the will of the people.

President Obama’s healthcare reform act will not Repair the Healthcare System. His new entitlement for 32 million people will not save money or reduce the deficit.

President Obama promised his healthcare reform act would provide universal access to care to all Americans, be affordable to both the government and its citizens, and increase the quality of medical care

“Of all the claims deployed in favor of Obama Care, and there are many, the most preposterous is that a new open-ended entitlement will somehow reduce the budget deficit, insure 32 million more people, and save money too!”

Americans have experience with open ended entitlements. They never save money. Most Americans understand that government cannot subsidize coverage for tens of millions of people and simultaneously reduce the deficit

The Democrats’ spin machine started working immediately as the Republicans prepare to repeal ObamaCare.

“Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius chimed in that "we can’t afford repeal,"

ObamaCare will cost at least $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Is this a bargain for taxpayers? Presient Obama’s healthcare reform act does little to Repair the Healthcare System.

ObamaCare is setting up Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). In my opinion, ACOs have little chance of being effective. ACOs will create a system of salaried physicians owned by hospital systems. All physicians have to be integrated into the system in order for the ACO to have a chance. Physicians’ productivity will decrease. ACO will create incentives for secondary stakeholders. There will be few incentives for primary stakeholders. .ACOs will generate regulations that will increase “paperwork” and decrease direct patient care. It will increase government control over the lives of patients. It will not reduce costs.

President Obama released a statement saying repeal will “explode the deficit.”

Meanwhile, other Democrats have taken up arms about House procedure. The GOP adopted a budget rule that says repeal doesn’t have to be "paid for," and the press corps is treating this exemption as a scandal against Washington decency.

The CBO was manipulated by the numbers given to it by the Democratic House of Representatives to score ObamaCare. I would not be surprised if the numbers change if Republicans request a rescore with different numbers. The Democratic controlled congress has gamed the CBO’s budget conventions.

The CBO is required to "score" the numbers presented to them by congress no matter how unrealistic.

The party in power at the time (Democratic Party) makes believe that the CBO’s forecasts are carved in stone. All the score really shows is that politicians have rigged the budget rules to hide the true cost of entitlements.

Americans now understand the congressional process. The congressional disrespect is the reason the polls are unfavorable toward congress. Americans want the truth.

President Obama managed to pass his bill despite the opposition of the majority of the American people. Americans continue to oppose the bill today even though the facts in the bill have become a blur.

“Gallup reported yesterday that Americans favor repeal, 46% to 40%.”

How did gaming the CBO budget scores make President Obama’s healthcare act seem to save money?

1. President Obama’s healthcare law uses 10 years of taxes to fund six years of subsidies.

2. Social Security and Medicare revenues are double-counted to the tune of $398 billion.

3. A new program funding long-term care frontloads taxes but backloads spending.

4. The law pretends that Congress will spend less on Medicare than it really will, in particular, through an automatic 25% cut to physician payments that Democrats have already voted not to allow for this year.

5. President Obama had the law shift the government doctor fix out of the healthcare budget

These are just a few of the tricks used by President Obama to get the CBO to score his healthcare reform budget neutral.

Richard Foster, the chief Medicare actuary separately published analyses of the Medicare and Medicaid spending that would have be devastating to President Obama’s healthcare law. He revealed the true cost. His report was not widely covered by the traditional media.

Doug Holtz-Eakin, a former CBO director and an economist has pointed out that ObamaCare creates an incentive for businesses to drop employee coverage. Employees will be forced into the private insurance market using after tax dollars or Medicaid. This was obvious to me from the start. The results will explode the federal and state deficits far more than the CBO projects. It will also result in a decrease in access to care as well as rationing of healthcare.

“ Entitlements are always sold as modest and "paid for," then years later everyone suddenly discovers that they are "unaffordable" without digging deeper into the pockets of the middle class. How do you think Medicare and Medicaid got to their current pass?”

When will our government ever learn? President Obama should be fixing the core problems in the healthcare system. Instead, he is creating an opportunity for increased government control over healthcare and greater healthcare insurance industry profit at the expense of consumers (taxpayers).

President Obama should try a consumer driven healthcare system and the ideal medical savings account.

The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.