Look who's talking now.
Obamaman, sent to earth to save the world, has single-handedly promised to save jobs, forestall home foreclosure, and make the world a safer place by having everyone join hand and sing Kumbaya is now ready to tackle "one of the major reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship jobs overseas".
Health care consumes roughly 16% of GDP. Unless you can harness the cost of health CARE you cannot lower the cost of health INSURANCE.
It would seem that the Prez understands this.
Or does he?
Part of his plan calls for changes in Medicare and Medicaid that are projected to save $300 billion over the next 10 years which sounds great.
Of course it sounds great. That is what he does best.
But consider this. Medicare & Medicaid currently consume $720 billion and are expected to double to $1.4 trillion in 10 years.
The total projected 10 year savings of $300 billion vs. a total projected expenditure over the same period of $8.2 trillion is a drop in the bucket.
Saving dollars is noble, but at what price?
Of the 12 items listed in the graphic (above), 5 involve some form of rationing health care. The biggest savings ($37 billion) comes at the expense of shifting the cost of home health care away from Medicare to the patient.
Controlling costs is a step in the right direction. I am not convinced that Washington is the answer.
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