Goldberg falsely suggests health care reform isn't paid for

Written by Jocelyn Fong

Published

Jonah Goldberg claimed that the Obama administration “is now floating the idea of imposing a value-added tax” “to pay for” the “recently passed health-care legislation.” In fact, CBO found that the health care law more than pays for itself over the next ten years and beyond.

Goldberg: White house “floating” VAT “to pay for” health care reform

From Goldberg's April 9 column:

By now, you may have heard: America is on its way to becoming another European country.

Now, by that I don't mean that we're moving off the coast of France. Rather, a century-long dream of American progressives is finally looking like it might become a reality.

The recently passed health-care legislation is the cornerstone of the Europeanization of America. And to pay for it, the White House is now floating the idea of imposing a value-added tax like they have in most of Europe.

In fact, the bill more than pays for itself, according to CBO

CBO estimated that health care law would reduce deficits by $143 billion over first ten years. In its March 20 estimate of H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal, the Congressional Budget Office said “CBO and JCT estimate that enacting both pieces of legislation-HR. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal-would produce a net reduction in federal deficits of $143 billion over the 2010-2019 period as result of changes in direct spending and revenues.”

CBO: Health care reform would reduce deficits in second decade by around “one-half percent of GDP.” Further, CBO stated of the deficit impact “for the decade following the 2010-2019 period”: "[T]he combined effect of enacting H.R. 3590 and the reconciliation proposal would also be to reduce federal budget deficits over the ensuing decade relative to those projected under current law - with a total effect during that decade in a broad range around one-half percent of GDP."

CBO: Health care reform would “probably continue to reduce budget deficits” in subsequent decades. Additionally, CBO stated of the impact of the health care reform bill on deficits after 2029: “CBO has not extrapolated estimates further into the future because the uncertainties surrounding them are magnified even more. However, in view of the projected net savings during the decade following the 10-year budget window, CBO anticipates that the reconciliation proposal would probably continue to reduce budget deficits relative to those under current law in subsequent decades, assuming that all of its provisions continued to be fully implemented.”