The Break #2 For 10/7/09: The Crapest Bill Has A Price Tag

Baucus and Kent Conrad are probably the only two excited.......and the health insurance companies:

The Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill will save the federal government $81 billion over the next 10 years, according to the much-anticipated Congressional Budget Office estimate released this afternoon. CBO found that subsidizing the coverage expansion will cost $518 billion** over a decade, partly offset by taxing high-cost insurance plans ($201 billion), trimming Medicare rates “for most services” ($162 billion), and cutting subsidies to the private insurance companies that cover Medicare patients ($117 billion). The total cost of the bill over a decade would be $829 billion, according to the CBO score.

Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) had delayed the panel’s vote on the sweeping health reform bill until the CBO score was issued. No word yet on when that vote will take place.

So, can we score single payer and a strong robust public option please.