Health “Reform:” High Premiums, Rising Costs
The Associated Press has a story this morning profiling the new federal high-risk pool program set to be introduced later this week (more than a week behind the schedule laid out in the health care law). However, the article also notes that “premiums will be a stretch for many,” and notes that “cost issues dog” the new program. It points out that “technical experts who advise Congress and the Administration have repeatedly warned that the White House underestimated the cost,” and observes that, if the program runs out of money (which CBO predicted last week it would), “that would be an embarrassment for Obama, since the program is a centerpiece of his plan for putting the nation on a path to coverage for all.”
Again, it’s worth pointing out that Democrats easily could have provided full funding for high-risk pools, had they chosen not to provide $15 billion in taxpayer funding for a “slush fund” for jungle gyms and other dubious spending projects, or billions more in backroom deals needed to obtain the votes necessary to pass the legislation. Many may question how dedicating billions in taxpayer funds to new backroom deals and pork projects, rather than individuals with pre-existing conditions, constitutes true health care “reform.”