I have posted previously on the fact that the costs of  Health Care Bill’s currently before Congress aren’t accurately reflected in the CBO’s scoring of those bills.

The bills shift costs of Health Care away from Medicare and onto Medicaid.  Because the latter is administered by the States, this serves to shift the cost off of the Federal Government’s books.  It instead forces the States to pick up much of the cost of the Health Care Bills.  These costs need to be considered in order to get a true picture of the cost associated with the bill.

Then there is the “Doctor Fix.”  This is $250 Billion in spending for Medicare that has been pushed into another bill.  However, this spending is necessary in order to get the Health Care Bill passed and should be associated with the bill.  Including this spending increases the cost of the bill well over $1 Trillion and causes the bill to increase deficit spending by over $200 billion over the first 10 years of the program.

Then there is the budgetary game Congress plays in regards to timing.  In this case, Congress immediately implements all the taxes related to the bill, but it defers much of the spending until 2013.  This is when the “Health Care Exchanges” are created.  This includes a public insurance program.

Then there is the latest accounting gimmick that NRO has pointed out.  When the Health Care Bill proposed under Bill Clinton was proposed, the CBO included the cost associated with the mandate that all Americans carry health insurance in the cost of the bill.  This cost was 50% more than the government incurred costs.

The cost this bill imposes on the American people could be as high as $1.5 Trillion.

Congress has shifted the costs associated with Health Care of the books of the Federal Government, and imposed them onto the States and the American people.

The true cost of Health Care is closer to 2 and a half Trillion Dollars.

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