Budget Office Says Health Care Will Cut Deficit; Vote Likely on Sunday

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released a preview Thursday morning of the Congressional Budget Office's long-awaited cost estimate of the Democrats' final health care reform proposal. The CBO's full report was not yet available, but Hoyer provided the preliminary details for his members who have said they cannot commit to supporting the bill without knowing its impact on the federal budget.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders, CBO director Doug Elmendorf gave preliminary estimates on the likely costs and effects of the reconciliation package to be voted on by the House and Senate. Elmenorf stressed, however, that his agency has not finished a full assessment of the reconciliation bill and that the numbers could change.

With that qualification, Elmendorf said that the compromise legislation between the House and the Senate, including an overhaul of the student loan industry, will:

- Cost $940 billion over 10 years;

- Cut the deficit by $130 billion in the first 10 years (2010-2019) and by $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years.

- Expand access to health insurance for 32 million Americans who do not already have it, meaning 95 percent of Americans will be able to buy it; and

- Will reduce the annual growth in Medicare expenditures by 1.4 percent per year and will extend the solvency of Medicare for nine years.

House Republicans immediately rebutted Hoyer's numbers and said that the CBO does not yet have an official cost estimate for the bill. Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, called the release of the numbers "an outrageous exploitation by the majority" and said, "House Democrats are touting to the press – and spinning for partisan gain – numbers that have not been released and are impossible to confirm."

Once the Congressional Budget Office provides its full report to Congress, the full legislative language of the bill will be posted on the Internet for 72 hours, after which the House will cast a final vote, most likely on Sunday.