Health Care: Quick and Dirty Update

Today the President sent the Vice President out to make some comments on health care reform. Vice President Biden spoke in an attempt to counter the arguments from Republicans that the current health care bill would reduce Medicare/Medicaid benefits to the elderly. He characterized those arguments as "scare tactics." What he didn't say, and probably never will, is that for the health care reform bill now making its way through congress to meet the goal of not increasing the federal deficit, Medicare and Medicaid expenditures must be reduced by about $420 billion over the next ten years. Do I believe that will happen? Not in a million years. No congress has ever reduced the expenditures associated with Medicare/Medicaid and I doubt this one will either. That said, they are talking out of both sides of their mouths. One side says the health care reform will not increase the federal deficit based on reductions in Medicare/Medicaid while the other side says we won't cut Medicare/Medicaid.