You are on page 1of 2

COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET

CO-CHAIRMEN
Bill Frenzel
Leon Panetta
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate Brown 202-986-2700
December 18, 2008 Kbrown@newamerica.net
PRESIDENT
Maya MacGuineas CBO Reports Give Politicians Options for Health Care Reform

DIRECTORS WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released two
Barry Anderson health care reports, one focusing on large-scale proposals for reforming the health care
Roy Ash system, and the other on specific health care-related budget options the federal
Charles Bowsher government can undertake.
Steve Coll
Dan Crippen The reports project that federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid will roughly double
Vic Fazio in the next decade, from $720 billion in 2009 to $1.4 trillion in 2019; and will grow as a
Willis Gradison share of gross domestic product from about 4 percent in 2009 to nearly 6 percent in 2019
William Gray, III and 12 percent by 2050.
William Hoagland
Douglas Holtz-Eakin “The numbers in these CBO reports are a clarion call to reform the biggest driver of
Jim Jones projected skyrocketing budget deficits – the fact that health care costs are growing faster
Lou Kerr than the U.S. economy,” said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a
Jim Kolbe Responsible Federal Budget. “And with this new list of budget options, politicians can no
James Lynn longer use lack of information as an excuse for inaction.”
James McIntyre, Jr.
David Minge Budget Options, Volume I: Health Care presents more than 100 discrete health care
Marne Obernauer, Jr. budget options – many with considerable savings – which address everything from the
June O’Neill tax treatment of health insurance to spending on Medicare and Medicaid to the overall
Rudolph Penner health care delivery system. Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals,
Tim Penny meanwhile, focuses on health care proposals and provides extensive background
Peter Peterson information on the state of the nation’s health care system.
Robert Reischauer
Alice Rivlin “As Congress and the new administration craft a stimulus package to stabilize the
Charles W. Stenholm economy in the short run - but not bust the budget in the long run - including many of the
Gene Steuerle cost-saving measures the CBO has provided could potentially prove quite useful,” said
David Stockman MacGuineas.
Paul Volcker
Carol Cox Wait CBO will publish the more wide-ranging Budget Options pertaining to other government
David M. Walker programs and options for reform early next year.
Joseph Wright, Jr.

SENIOR ADVISORS
Henry Bellmon
Elmer Staats
Robert Strauss

You might also like