Roadblock Republicans Forcing Economy Off Cliff. Again

by: Jennifer Daler

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 18:54:41 PM EST

According to a report out today from economists at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, federal spending on health care grew faster than private spending in 2009, as more people fell off private insurance rolls and signed up for Medicaid. While the recession is largely to blame for changes in 2009, CMS predicts the trend of an increasing government role in health spending to continue. One reason: As more baby boomers grow old enough to qualify for Medicare, that program is on track to grow substantially.

In other words, the government will account for over half of total health care spending by 2012 even if nothing changes. No tea party, no outrage, no insurance company lobbyists will be able to change this. The question is whether it is done consciously and with an eye to increased sustainability, or unconsciously in a piece meal fashion which will only serve entrenched economic interests. And it won't even serve them for very long.

Dramatic figures in the CMS report show that health care accounted for 17.3% of the U.S. economy in 2009. The increase in health spending, from $2.34 trillion in 2008 to $2.47 trillion in 2009, was the largest one-year jump since 1960. CMS predicts total U.S. health spending in 2019 will be $4.5 trillion. This will bolster the Democratic argument that dramatic health reform is an urgent need that must happen quickly. President Obama continued this week to push Congressional Democrats to get health reform legislation to his desk, both at a town hall in New Hampshire and speaking directly to a meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus yesterday.

By refusing to participate in serious health care reform, Republicans are saying, "So what if the health care system is careening down hill with no brakes. We'll block the way to get it safely on track because it'll bring us back into power. Who cares if the system crashes?" They'll filibuster us into economic oblivion, then blame it on others.

Pickert continues:

I've said here before that Democrats have basically failed to convince Americans that the health system needs to change, so whether they'll successfully translate this CMS report in a renewed call for reform is a very open question.

It's difficult to convince the public to support health care reform with the constant whirligig of misinformation and political posturing from the press and the GOP.

This is serious for the future of our economy. Policymakers and the public alike ignore it at our and our children's peril.