Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="klein" data-source="post: 703887" data-attributes="member: 23950">WILL OBAMA&#039;S PLAN &quot;BEND THE CURVE&quot; AND KEEP HEALTHCARE COSTS FROM DESTROYING THE U.S. ECONOMY?Some economists, at least, say yes.The $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry accounts for one-sixth of the country&#039;s gross domestic product, and a centerpiece of Obama&#039;s argument for his overhaul was that rising costs must be controlled because they risked destroying the economy.Republicans contended that Obama&#039;s plan was too broad and expensive, and would increase the high federal budget deficit.The Democrats&#039; case for the overhaul was boosted on Thursday when the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would cost $940 billion over 10 years but cut the deficit by $138 billion over the same period.Many economists say the plan is at least an important step in the right direction toward controlling costs.&quot;I do think we have a credible shot at bending the curve,&quot; said Len Nichols, a healthcare economist at George Mason University in Virginia.&quot;(Healthcare is) the single biggest fiscal contributor to our structural imbalance. I don&#039;t know how to fix that without getting Medicare&#039;s delivery system better aligned with incentives. I don&#039;t know how to do that without systemwide health reform,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Whole story :&nbsp; <a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100322/us/politics_us_usa_healthcare_obama_qa" target="_blank">http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100322/us/politics_us_usa_healthcare_obama_qa</a></blockquote>

[QUOTE="klein, post: 703887, member: 23950"] WILL OBAMA'S PLAN "BEND THE CURVE" AND KEEP HEALTHCARE COSTS FROM DESTROYING THE U.S. ECONOMY? Some economists, at least, say yes. The $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry accounts for one-sixth of the country's gross domestic product, and a centerpiece of Obama's argument for his overhaul was that rising costs must be controlled because they risked destroying the economy. Republicans contended that Obama's plan was too broad and expensive, and would increase the high federal budget deficit. The Democrats' case for the overhaul was boosted on Thursday when the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would cost $940 billion over 10 years but cut the deficit by $138 billion over the same period. Many economists say the plan is at least an important step in the right direction toward controlling costs. "I do think we have a credible shot at bending the curve," said Len Nichols, a healthcare economist at George Mason University in Virginia. "(Healthcare is) the single biggest fiscal contributor to our structural imbalance. I don't know how to fix that without getting Medicare's delivery system better aligned with incentives. I don't know how to do that without systemwide health reform," he said. Whole story : [URL]http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100322/us/politics_us_usa_healthcare_obama_qa[/URL] [/QUOTE]

Verification