The combination of $750 fine for not having health insurance, and removal of preexising conditions, is simply going to lead to large numbers of healthy, young people opting out and paying their fine, and then getting insurance once they’re sick. That will drive up the cost to insurance companies, which will be passed on to us.

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Moran: “[CMS says] that premiums will go up drastically [under the bill.]”

I read the report and couldn’t find any such claim.

Moran: “the bill won’t do anything to reduce the cost of health care.”

The report states, “For fiscal years 2010 through 2019, we estimate a relatively small reduction in non-Medicare Federal health care expenditures of $2.1 billion, all of which is associated with the comparative effectiveness research provision.” There are a variety of ideas about how to reduce the rate at which health care costs are growing, but the only way to know which ones will work is to try them and see. That’s what the bill does.

Moran: “the quality of care will go down.”

The only discussion of quality of care I spotted in the report is a brief mention in the section on costs: “There is no consensus…that prevention and wellness efforts result in lower costs. Several prominent studies conclude that such provisions–while improving the quality of individuals’ lives in important ways–generally increase costs overall.”

Moran: “As far as coverage, that same CMS report figures a net increase of 3 million Americans who will be insured.”

To the contrary, the report states, “By calendar year 2019, the individual mandate, Medicaid expansion, and other provisions are estimated to reduce the number of uninsured from 57 million under current law to 23 million under H.R. 3962.” That’s a net increase of 34 million people.

Amen and Amen again.