Healthcare summit: next up, the deficit

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Next on the agenda is the federal deficit -- probably the area of greatest disagreement between the parties.

Earlier Thursday morning, President Obama said: ‘Almost all of the long-term deficit and debt that we face relates to the exploding cost of Medicare and Medicaid.’

That’s true, if you consider deficit projections over time. Medicare enrollment is expected to grow rapidly as more baby boomers reach the eligibility age of 65. Plus, people are living longer, and new, lifesaving technologies are expensive.

Obama says his proposal would cost $950 billion, yet reduce the deficit by $100 billion over 10 years. That’s partially because the plan would cut some spending in Medicare. Republicans want those savings to go back into the Medicare program, not go toward paying for other elements of the bill. That’s not surprising, since Republicans don’t want ‘the bill’ at all.

-- Kim Geiger