You’re looking at the biggest story involving the federal budget and a crucial one for the future of the American economy. Every year for the last six years in a row, the Congressional Budget Office has reduced its estimate for how much the federal government will need to spend on Medicare in coming years. The latest reduction came in a report from the budget office on Wednesday morning. The changes are big. The difference between the current estimate for Medicare’s 2019 budget and the estimate for the 2019 budget four years ago is about $95 billion dollars. That sum is greater than the government is expected to spend that year on unemployment insurance, welfare and Amtrak — combined. It’s equal to about one-fifth of the expected Pentagon budget in 2019. Widely discussed policy changes, like raising the estate tax, would generate just a tiny fraction of the budget savings relative to the recent changes in Medicare’s spending estimates.
In more concrete terms, the reduced estimates mean that the federal government’s long-term budget deficit is considerably less severe than commonly thought just a few years ago. The reduced estimates are also an indication of what’s happening in the overall health care system. Even as more people are getting access to health insurance, the costs of caring for individual patients is growing at a super-slow rate. That means that health care, which has eaten into salary gains for years and driven up debt and bankruptcies, may be starting to stabilize as a share of national spending. The Affordable Care Act, in particular, made significant reductions to Medicare’s spending on hospitals and private Medicare plans, to help subsidize insurance coverage for low- and middle-income Americans.
Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden kisses his wife Jill after his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 27, 2008
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Today (all times Eastern)
10:0: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
11:15: Meets with the economic team and senior advisors
12:45: White House press briefing
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@petesouza: President Obama makes remarks at the American Legion national convention
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On This Day
Sen. Barack Obama greets former presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry on day three of the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center August 27, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama stands with his vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden after Biden addressed the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 27, 2008
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Morning again everyone, we’ll try to catch up with the new later!
On This Day: President Barack Obama and family tour the Gay Head lighthouse in Aquinnah, Mass., while on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Aug. 27, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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