Grassley Skeptical of Industry’s Health Care Plans

Created: June 01, 2009 17:01 | Last updated: July 31, 2020 00:00

Earlier today, the giants of the health care industry delivered to the White House their plans to trim the nation’s skyrocketing medical costs — strategies they say will save a cool $2 trillion over the next decade.

A few minutes ago, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a two-sentence statement reacting to that plan, which can be translated like this: I’ll believe it when I see it.

I’m skeptical that these proposals will add up to anywhere near $2 trillion. In the legislative process, proposals rise or fall based on what [the Congressional Budget Office] says about them, and the same will be true here.

Two things to keep in mind here: (1) Grassley, as the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, will be on the front lines of the looming health reform debate, so his skepticism could easily translate into policy. And (2) claims of “savings” in Washington often don’t mean savings at all, but instead indicate a reduction in projected growth. The balance these industries are trying to locate is how to pull in as much money as they can without bankrupting the entire system.