New Study: ObamaCare Will Drive Up Costs & Might Harm Medicare

Monday morning, on the L.A. Times' Top of the Ticket blog, Andrew Malcolm points to a new study from the Department of Health and Human Services that says it would be cheaper to do nothing rather than pass the health care reform bill backed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.

Analysts in the Obama administration's Health and Human Services Department reported Friday that the nation's $2.5-trillion annual healthcare tab will not shrink at all under the Democrats' legislative blueprint as being pushed by happy Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Instead, they said, the nation's medical costs will actually grow faster under the new bill than....

...they would if that chatty crowd of Washington spenders did absolutely nothing nada zippo about it. And even if they did pass the existing version for all that money, 24 million Americans would still remain uncovered.

Malcolm, Andrew (2009-12-14). Oops! Turns out Obama's cost-cutting health plan won't save a dime; cheaper to do nothing. Top of the Ticket. Retrieved on 2009-12-14.

The report that Malcolm cited also says that "the Democrats' plan to squeeze Medicare for $493 billion over 10 years in savings relies on specific policy changes that 'may be unrealistic' and could lead to cuts in services. The Medicare savings are expected to cover about half the nearly $1 trillion, 10-year cost of expanding coverage to the uninsured." [Alonso-Zaldiva, Ricardo (2009-12-12). US health care tab to keep growing under overhaul. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2009-12-14.]

In essence, the study says ObamaCare costs too much and may do more harm than good. If that's the case, then why not slow the process down and work on a bill that truly reforms the American health care system instead of passing a "quick fix" designed only to score a few cheap political points.