DEBATE REACTION: HEALTHCARE

Paul Howard:

Romney made the critical point that Obamacare takes $716 billion from Medicare - not to make it more effective or sustainable, but to pay for new health insurance subisidies for the uninsured on state health insurance exchanges.  The Medicare cuts will also make 15% of Medicare providers unprofitable in the short term, and 40% unprofitable in the long term.  This will translate into reduced health care access for seniors as providers stop accepting Medicare coverage. 

On other side of the ledger, which Romney did not mention, the CBO estimates that the exchange subsidies and Medicaid expansion will cost $200 bilion annually by 2020, and grow at 8% annually.  This is hardly “bending the curve” of health care costs that President Obama initially promised.  Furthermore, states’ ability to invest in critical infrastructure projects and education is being strangled by the rising state share of Medicaid costs. Obamacare does nothing to reverse this trend, and in fact is set to make it much worse.