As I previously
noted, the Congressional Budget Office actually said the
House health care bill would cost $1.055 trillion from 2010 to
2019, even though most news accounts focused on the $894 billion
figure. The difference is that the lower figure includes the
offsetting taxes collected from individuals who do not purchase
insurance and on businesses that do not provide insurance.
The most basic test of media fairness is that they should at
least use comparable numbers when reporting the costs of various
bills. Unfortunately, the media mostly failed on this account.
Remember how when the CBO score of the Senate Finance
Committee bill came out it was widely reported to cost $829
billion? Well here's where that number came from, quoting from
the CBO: "the "net cost itself reflects a gross total of
$829 billion in credits and subsidies provided through
the exchanges, increased net outlays for Medicaid and the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and tax credits for
small employers..."
Well here's what yesterday's CBO estimate of the House bill
had to say: the "net cost itself reflects a gross total
of $1,055 billion in subsidies provided through the
exchanges (and related spending), increased net outlays for
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
(CHIP), and tax credits for small employers..."
So clearly, the correct number to report regarding the House bill
was the $1.055 trillion figure. The New York Times's
Prescriptions blog, to its credit,
concluded that: "a closer look at the budget office report
suggests that the number everyone should have reported was $1.055
trillion, which is the gross cost of the insurance coverage
provisions in the bill before taking account of certain new
revenues, including penalties by individuals and employers who
fail to meet new insurance requirements in the bill."
But instead, most of the media assisted Democrats by reporting
the lower figure, which helps them claim that they met President
Obama's pledge that the overall cost of health care legislation
would be less than $900 billion.
