CBO: Medicare for All Transition Could Be ‘Complicated, Challenging’ and Disruptive

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report this week that a potential transition to Medicare for All could be “complicated, challenging,” and potentially disruptive.

The non-partisan CBO released a report this week which detailed potential hurdles that America could face if the country were to transition to single-payer, government-run, Medicare for All-style program.

The CBO said Medicare for All would entail a “major undertaking that would involve substantial changes” to medical care.

“The transition toward a single-payer system could be complicated, challenging and potentially disruptive,” the CBO added.

The CBO also suggested that offering universal American health coverage “would significantly increase government spending and require substantial additional government resources.” The non-partisan agency said that total medical spending in a single-payer system “might be higher or lower than under the current system,” depending on how they design the system.

Mercatus Center scholar Charles Blahous testified recently before the House Rules Committee and said that Medicare for All could cost the federal government more than $60 trillion over ten years, $32 trillion of which include new federal spending.

The CBO also cautioned lawmakers to consider how quickly Americans could transition to a new government-run healthcare system and “what would happen to workers in the health insurance industry if private insurance was banned entirely or its role was limited.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who authored a popular House Medicare for All bill, admitted recently that one million health insurance workers could get “displaced” under Medicare for All.

House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA), who backs Medicare for All, claimed recently that Americans will not lose their healthcare, doctors, or hospitals in a message reminiscent of former President Barack Obama’s infamous claim that Obamacare would allow Americans to keep their healthcare plan.