The CBO report on Reid's health care reform bill. AP Photo Lauren Victoria Burke
Today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) received the Congressional Budget Office report on his version of the health care reform bill. The CBO gave Reid's bill a thumbs up in general. The bill would cover 31 million new Americans while saving $127 billion over then next ten years and then another $650 billion in the following ten years. The second set of savings is more speculative as the farther away the projections the less certain predictions become. Still the bill report is good news for Reid and Democrats in general as it is not only deficit neutral but deficit "negative" in that it would reduce the amount of debt added compared to the status quo.
Still the bill could change as it is brought to the Senate floor and then (if it passes) melded to together with the House version in conference. As the video below shows new polling shows that if the bill is to change American's actually prefer a more liberal bill as opposed to a more conservative one. When asked about the current health care legislation Americans are fairly evenly split with 48% supporting and 49% opposing. However when asked about a public option the percentage of Americans opposing the measure goes down by 10%. It seems that many Americans currently opposed to health care legislation are actually opposed because it does not have a strong enough public option. In addition when asked about how the bill should be paid for an even larger percentage of Americans favored taxing those making over $250,000. Once again this tax is actually seen as a more progressive, liberal measure compared to the current bill taxes.
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Comments
What a POS. How in the world does a biased Gov't Report show what Americans favor?? More political Chicanery and obscurring of the fact that More and More Americans DO NOT favor Gov't health care.
Shove Shove Shove!! Force it on them AT ALL COSTS. This is the American Way???
Agree, Jaime. Utter BS to the core.
Like they care what the American people want!
We've been screaming in their faces all year and they just keep going...they won't figure it out til they're out on their ears!!
I can't wait to see the defeat of Harry Reid in Nevada!
Thank you for this, Ryan. The history of polling shows Americans want single-payer health care. If politicians were interested in the public will, as Gigi says they are not and I agree, an independent economic cost-benefit analysis should lead their debate to help inform choices. Removing "health care" companies would save the public about $100 billion every year and cover everyone, according to most studies.
Carl Herman:
I watch the polls closely and have never seen one say that the majoity of Americans want single-payer heatlth care'.
In fact Obama is on video saying that's what he wanted, before he ran for president; but now denies it, because he knows it is not popular!
Carl,
Are you implying that health care for all can be had for $100Bil a year??? I'm surprised the Libs or Repubs in Washington haven't snapped you and the studies you refer too up!!
The History of Polling?? Is this a treatise by Doris Kearns Goodwin or something? I have NEVER EVER heard of a Poll which shows that a majority of Americans wants a "SINGLE PAYOR HEALTH SYSTEM" I have seen polls which say that Health Care should be affordable for everyone, or that everyone should have access to health care....But NEVER what you are claiming.
You are in effect saying that most people WANT their Health insurance taken away and replaced with the Gov't Single Payor NON-option. This is counter to everything that has occured since at least June.
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