Democrats' new health care reform bill is estimated to cost $940 billion over the next decade without adding to the deficit, sources told Fox News. Sources said the estimates show the updated bill would save $130 billion over the first 10 years and save $1.2 trillion over the second decade.
ORIGINAL STORY ...
The fate of the Democrats' health care reform effort hinges on a report expected Thursday morning from the congressional budget scorekeepers -- an estimate of what a follow-up bill could cost that already is running into trouble.
The Congressional Budget Office is set to release its estimate of the price tag for a so-called "side-car" package of changes to the overall health care reform bill that House Democrats insist on pursuing in exchange for approving, temporarily, the Senate-passed bill.
They want to consider the follow-up bill under "reconciliation" rules, which would allow the Senate to pass it with just 51 votes, instead of 60.
But there's a problem: Some Democrats are jeopardizing that game plan by resisting the kind of sweeping tax needed in order to qualify for reconciliation rules.
In order to qualify, the CBO estimate must show that the bill saves at least $1 billion over five years and creates absolutely no deficit after that period of time. The Senate-passed bill includes a tax on high-value insurance plans to ensure the bill is paid for, but liberal Democrats and unions have long had issues with that tax -- they wanted a straight tax on the wealthy in the original House bill.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said the biggest complication at this late stage in the game is making sure the bill qualifies as a reconciliation package.
Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., conceded Wednesday night they were having "technical" issues with provisions like the excise tax.
"This is a process where one little thing affects everything else," he said.
House Democratic leaders insist the bill will be paid for.
"I'm confident the CBO numbers will show that this reduces the deficit in a significant way over a 10-year period," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said.
Some fiscally minded lawmakers want to see the CBO numbers before deciding how to vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still several votes short of the 216 needed to pass the Senate-approved package.
So far, the earliest a vote on the House floor could happen is Sunday. The plan is for lawmakers to post the reconciliation bill online Thursday afternoon, starting the 72-hour timeframe Democrats say they will allow for the public to review the language.
