Despite Obama’s Claims, New Report Says ObamaCare “Will Lead To Rise In Spending”

THEN:

Obama Promised His Plan Would “Bring Down Costs For The Entire Country By Making Our Health Care System More Efficient Through Better Technology And More Emphasis On Prevention.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Of Senator Barack Obama Economic Roundtable With Democratic Governors, Chicago, IL, 6/20/08)

Obama Promised: “[G]etting Health Care Costs Under Control Is Essential To Reducing Budget Deficits, Restoring Fiscal Discipline, And Putting Our Economy On A Path Towards Sustainable Growth And Shared Prosperity.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Reforming The Health Care System To Reduce Costs, Washington, DC, 5/11/09)

Obama:  “This Legislation Will Also Lower Costs For Families And For Businesses And For The Federal Government, Reducing Our Deficit By Over $1 Trillion In The Next Two Decades. It Is Paid For, It Is Fiscally Responsible, And It Will Help Lift A Decades-Long Drag On Our Economy.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Signing The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Washington, D.C., 3/23/10)

NOW:

ObamaCare To Increase Costs More Than Had It Never Been Enacted.  “Despite President Obama’s promises to rein in health care costs as part of his reform bill, health spending nationwide is expected to rise more than if the sweeping legislation had never become law.  Total spending is projected to grow annually by 5.8 percent under Mr. Obama’s Affordable Care Act, according to a 10-year forecast by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released Thursday.  Without the ACA, spending would grow at a slightly slower rate of 5.7 percent annually.” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, “Health Care Law Won’t Rein In Costs, Study Says,” The Washington Times, 7/28/11)

• Health Care Spending To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020.  “The nation’s health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report on Thursday …  Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare’s Office of the Actuary.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health Tab To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020,” The Associated Press, 7/28/11)
• Politico: “CMS: Health Law Will Lead To Rise In Spending.” (Brett Norman, “CMS: Health Law Will Lead To Rise In Spending,” Politico, 7/28/11)

Health Care Spending “Doesn’t Seem To Be Slowing Down.”  “The report from Medicare economists and statisticians is an annual barometer of a trend that many experts say is unsustainable but doesn’t seem to be slowing down.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health Tab To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020,” The Associated Press, 7/28/11)

• CMS Chief Actuary Rick Foster: “If implemented as written, the health care law will ‘create a whole new world of health care spending,’”(Brett Norman, “CMS: Health Law Will Lead To Rise In Spending,” Politico, 7/28/11)

“The United States Will Find Little Relief From Its Bleak Long-Term Fiscal Outlook So Long As Growing Federal Health Care And Retirement Programs Gobble Up More And More Of The Country’s Resources, Said A New Economic Report Issued On Wednesday,” (Donna Smith & Richard Cowan, “CBO Sees Government Benefits Swamping Economy,” Reuters, 6/22/11)

When Medicare’s Chief Actuary Was Asked If ObamaCare Would Bring Down Medical Costs As Obama Promised He Said “I Would Say False, More So Than True.” (“Medicare Official Doubts Health Care Law Savings,” The Associated Press, 1/26/11)