Cost of Health Care Reform: $1.6 Trillion Seems Cheap

Remember when John Kerry was ridiculed for suggesting the Iraq war might eventually cost the country $200 billion? I think at the time, the Bush people were saying it would cost around $50 billion. According to the estimates I can find on the Internet, the Iraq war has now cost anywhere from $600 to $850 billion over about six years, and some say the eventual total cost is likely to be around $3 trillion. So why are lawmakers balking at new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office that reforming the health care system might cost as much as $1.6 trillion--and that over ten years, not six? The only conclusion that seems logical is to say that our government feels more comfortable spending money to kill people than it does spending money to provide health care. What does that say about us? Nothing good. Or am I missing something?