Is the CBO Report on the Baucus Bill Believable?

The CBO report putting the "gross cost of coverage provisions" in the Baucus Bill at $829 billion over the next decade should be met with great skepticism. The CBO itself was skeptical on page 12 of the report. Their numbers are only valid if "the proposals are enacted and remain unchanged throughout the next two decades." The CBO admits this "is often not the case for major legislation." Read the editorial below to find out how Medicare spending projections missed the mark "by a factor of more than 10!"

From Investors Business Daily:

But read on. On page 12 of CBO director Douglas Elmendorf's letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mt., comes the passage that reveals the skepticism of Congress' non-partisan in-house numbers crunchers.

"These projections assume that the proposals are enacted and remain unchanged throughout the next two decades," writes Elmendorf, "which is often not the case for major legislation."