AARP Bulletin - July/August 2010

Health Law Impact

By Rep. Eric Cantor

Opinion ;

Cantor

TOM WILLIAMS/ROLL CALL/GE TT Y IMAGES

Since the passage of the health care law, a number of questions have arisen.
Although I did not support it, the
law is truly transformational. For
that reason, it is important that
the information available tells a
complete picture of what it will
mean for you, your family and our
country. Three important facts:
; Costs Go Up, Not Down. Un-
der the new law, costs will ap-
proach $1 trillion over the next 10
years. Since the president signed
the law, the nonpartisan Con-
gressional Budget Office (CBO)
has reported that it will cost an
extra $115 billion to
implement—money not
in its original estimate.
A former CBO director
warns that the new law
will likely “raise, not
lower, federal deficits,
by $554 billion in the
first 10 years.” After it
was passed, we further learned
from the administration’s own ac-
tuaries that it will increase, not de-
crease, overall health care spend-
ing. Finally, by cutting some costs,
the law does extend the solvency
of Medicare. However, the savings
from these cuts are not put back
into the Medicare program, and
instead the money is used for new
programs not related to seniors.
; Medicare Services Are Not
“Guaranteed.” The May AARP
Bulletin reported that the bill in-
cludes “$390 billion in savings
from Medicare over 10 years,
with basic benefits protected.”
The government’s official actuar-
ies report that it cuts $575 billion
from Medicare. More trouble-
some, they report that as a result,
“[providers] might end their par-
ticipation in the program (possi-
bly jeopardizing access to care for
beneficiaries).” The actuaries pre-
dict that cuts to this program will
force out of Medicare Advantage
half of the seniors currently en-
joying it. Congress can pass laws
that contain feel-good phrases
like “guaranteed benefits,” but if
doctors and other providers no
longer participate in the program,
the words are meaningless.