Buffalo News op-ed: Health care costs to rise

The Buffalo News is only the latest publication to say what we've conservatives have known all along: ObamaCare means less money in our pockets.

As more information emerges on the recent health care reform legislation, it is not surprising that analysts now believe it will cost more than people were told.

In the first report since the bill was passed, economic experts at the Department of Health and Human Services say the bill, passed only last month, will increase the costs of health care by $511 billion over the next 10 years, instead of bringing them down. That comes from the Obama administration, although the analysts involved are considered neutral, and while it represents only a 1 percent increase it's still a sobering conclusion … because it's a best-case scenario, and it's dependent on a half-trillion dollars in cuts to the Medicare program, largely through Medicare Advantage.

These cuts, projected to save $520 billion over time, would be a real blow to the elderly. Hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and home health care also would be among the hardest hit. Many observers believe Congress will ultimately flinch, thus driving the costs of care even higher. For example, if the cuts are enacted, the report projects that they would push about 15 percent of hospitals and other institutional providers into the red.

Congress never has been willing to make such cuts targeting seniors, and it's doubtful it will do that now. Without the cuts, and with the estimated increase in costs, losses would hit the trillion-dollar range.

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