The airwaves have been filled with the Republican talking points, put forth by Mitch McConnell, that the Senate health care reform will result in "higher premiums, higher taxes, and massive cuts to Medicare." Of course, those of us who live in the reality-based community know that's utter bullshit. Nevertheless, we also know that talking points can easily take root in the general population. And for spineless, easily corruptible Democrats, popular perception - however ill-informed it may be - is more important than reality.
Therefore, it's important that we disseminate the truth -- Jonathon Gruber, an economist at MIT who conducted "microsimulation" analysis of the Senate HCR bill using data from the CBO, concludes that the bill will actually save money for those who purchase individual market coverage:
Gruber concludes that people purchasing individual insurance would save an annual $200 (singles) to $500 (families) in 2009 dollars. And people with low incomes would receive premium tax credits that would reduce the price that they pay for health insurance by as much as $2,500 to $7,500.
You can read the four page report here.
The report's bottom line is as follows:
Gruber’s conclusion: "[F]or those facing purchase in the non-group market, the ... bill will deliver savings ranging from $200 for singles to $500 for families in today’s dollars – even without subsidies. The savings are much larger for lower income populations that receive premium credits.
"This is in addition to the higher quality benefits that those in the exchange will receive, with actuarial values for low income populations well above what is typical in the non-group market today. It is also in addition to all the other benefits that this legislation will deliver to those consumers – in particular the guarantee, unavailable in most states, that prices would not be raised or the policy revoked if they became ill."
We need to be armed with as much information as possible to combat not only deceitful Republicans but spineless and health care industry owned Democrats like Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson and petty little bastards like Joe Lieberman. This is not to say that facts will prevent them from looking out for their own interests, but it makes it just a bit more difficult to get away with their bullshit.