As other see it: House health bill has iffy data

There is a lot wrong with the current state of affairs in American health care. But the rapid rise in costs -- including a 131 percent rise in employer-sponsored premiums in just the past 10 years -- is what drives this current fight for reform.

We have concerns about whether the House bill passed by five votes on Saturday accomplishes this goal.

The Congressional Budget Office projection that the House measure would lower the federal deficit by $109 billion in its first 10 years is accurate only if one accepts the data presented to the CBO.

It is hard data to buy.

The most dubious figure is the expectation that Congress will trim $400 billion from Medicare through dramatically lowered payments to doctors and hospitals. A smaller but similar "savings" is to result from a $110 billion slash in reimbursements to private insurers running the popular Medicare Advantage program.

Many times over the years, Congress has attempted savings by cutting reimbursement schedules, and every time, its heart grew too faint to hold the knife. ...

There are changes that really can alter the trajectory of medical-care price rises. Medical-liability law comes to mind.

But for whatever reasons, the House of Representatives chose not to consider those changes. ...