You know those “eat more to lose weight” diets? Funny, but that’s sort of how projected health-care reforms are being sold. But, as Matthew Continetti points out, only magical thinking allows Democrats in Congress to believe that their health-care program will save money:
Next time you run into a group of Democrats, offer to splash water on their faces. They’ve spent 2009 in a dream state, and it’s time they wake up. They’re convinced that they can subsidize health insurance for millions of people while also “bending the cost curve” of health care spending. They want to sign us up for the political equivalent of one of those three-step “eat more to lose weight” diets. Step one: Pile on the expenditures, regulations, taxes, and fees. Step two: Close your eyes. Step three: Pray it all works out in the end….
The idea that expanding coverage will save the country money has always been a fantasy. True, the Congressional Budget Office found that, under certain assumptions that the authors of the legislation in effect required the CBO to make, the House and Senate health bills might not blow up the deficit over the next decade. But that won’t happen in the real world. For one thing, doctors’ reimbursements just aren’t going to be cut 20 percent.
Here’s an idea: When estimating costs for projected programs, use real figures, not budget tricks, and come up with real projections. Otherwise, the United States will go broke. THAT is the real concern behind the health-care debate.