Obama: I can get $4 trillion in savings by slowing cost growth

Barack Obama has made this claim twice now, once today in his weekly address, and once during the speech to the joint session of Congress on September 9th:

"And as I have said over and over again, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits period. This plan will be paid for. The middle-class will realize greater security, not higher taxes. And if we can successfully slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of one percent each year, it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term."

The health-care industry generates $2.3 trillion a year in total, and the government portion of that is a fraction of that number. One-tenth of one percent of ALL costs (not just growth) would be $2.3 billion, and it would take almost 2,000 years to add up to $4 trillion. That's one hell of a "long run".

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Obama
• ObamaCare
• health care

[dleestan]

Junkie come to the floor and apologize for telling the truth

[IAmMichaelMyers]

obama has added to the deficit so much already I can't believe the american people are falling for his bullshit

[JayPhilosopher]

President Obama makes an excellent point. Universal affordable Health Care will dramatically help the economy. Workers who are healthy are more productive. The talk about costs must be balanced with talk of increased wealth and savings for the working class. If my family saves $5,000 a year on health care costs, I will be able to buy a new car in three years. That will help the car industry. I will be able to pay my mortgage and relieve the housing crisis. Times me by 50 million.

[micsc50]

His lips move he is lying. This idiot has no idea of what he is doing. How in the world are you going to give people taxpayer funded health care without spending more money. IMPOSSIBLE

[junkie4vids]

You Lie !

[czubspenx]

Obama is lying!

[nddavi58]

"over the long term" ha ha ha

[LiberalshateAmerica]

Well come on now, lets get this right, that 4 trillion adjusted for inflation it will ONLY take 599 years! hahaha

[dkkght46]

The ObamaBots & socialists are running scared tonight, if thats all they can muster to say about the Patriots massing in D.C (2 million). I hope Glenn Beck is right, that the paradigm has indeed begun to shift back to Constitutional Conservatism.

The radicals had 9 months and look at what they have done! And they have the nerve to talk about Bush's 8 years and they blew it in a couple of months. Impeach the Inept!

[bigtex501]

Congressional Budget Office's Report.... July 14th, 2009 to Charles Rangel (Chairman on Ways & Means)

Page 1..."Enacting legislation that embodied those specifications (rates & sources of insurance coverage) would result in a net ***increase*** in *federal budget deficits* of ***$1,042 billion*** over the 2010 / 2019 period."