House Health-Care Bill to Include $600 Billion in Tax Increases

[hadrons]

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.

Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. He also said the measure’s cost will reach beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a down payment for the policy changes.

Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqLNecbH0dcg

I know a RWer who's completely pissed about this, I would love to educate him (he's the type that gets tripped up on the talking points), but I'm not up on the details of Rangel proposel (even though I live in Rangel's district)

[Cleita]

1. I don't know if I got it right but I heard him interviewed on the TeeVee

the day before yesterday and he said they were going to give people without insurance a trillion dollars to buy insurance. If I heard it right, he's screwed the pooch. I'm certain all the insurance companies are wetting themselves with this new source of corporate welfare. I hope I heard him wrong. Since he's your Congressman maybe you can call his office and don't accept the double speak but pin them down on the exact details.

[KansDem]

2. "I know a RWer who's completely pissed about this"

Tell him Bush's invasion of Iraq will cost us $2.5 trillion. Ask him if he's pissed about that. If he says "yes," then ask him if he's 2.5 times more pissed...

Ask him what's more important: Health care for all Americans, or Bush's invasion of Iraq.

on edit: I saw this, Some Democrats also are backing creation of a government-run program to expand coverage to the uninsured. The issue is the subject of bipartisan negotiations with Republican opponents. I'm hoping the one trillion isn't heading for the f*cking insurance companies!