Yes, that sounds a little strange, but those deficits may be the only thing that saves us from what we referred to in the 1990s as HillaryCare.
Today, HillaryCare has many iterations, from the Democratic presidential candidates, to reform proposals in Congress, to legislation already passed in Massachusetts and being considered by other states. They all look for ways to impose the heavy hand of government on health care.
But the heavy hand isn’t what’s slowing them down. It’s the cost of the heavy hand.
Take California, for example. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made a pact with the liberal Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez (D)—never a good sign!—to pass a massive new health care reform plan based on the Massachusetts legislation. But with a lot more new taxes. You might call it Massachusetts on steroids.
The state estimated the plan would cost about $14 billion. But not even that slowed Arnie and company. It was only when some state legislators realized that the state was already facing a $14 billion deficit that there was some real pushback. Even some Democrats were concerned that that would be fiscally irresponsible and told the governor no.
And speaking of Massachusetts, the Boston Globe has been running stories saying that the new Massachusetts health care plan passed in 2006 is costing a lot more than anyone expected—though it would be more accurate to say that it’s more expensive than the politicians—including then-Governor Mitt Romney (R)—predicted. New estimates expect the plan will cost about $250 million more than anticipated this year, and $400 million next year.
Indeed, the issue has become so acute that state officials recently suggested passing a new cigarette tax to help pay for the plan. (Remember: it was supposed to save money!)
And then there is little Rhode Island, which was toying with a sweeping reform plan, but realized that it has a $450 million budget deficit—a lot of money for a small state. And so it has put its reform efforts on hold.
Of course, most states have to balance their budgets; not so with the federal government. So maybe the real hope for HillaryCare is at the federal level.
Except that Medicare and Medicaid are already so broke that President Bush proposed cutting the programs by nearly $200 billion over five years—engendering loud hoots and howls from the Democrats, who have no other solutions but to raise taxes.
So rail against budget deficits all you like—we may do a little railing ourselves—but realize they may have a silver lining: stopping a radical takeover of the U.S. health care system.