President Barack Obama has set aside $634 billion in a reserve fund to address changes in the health care system, The New York Times reports. About half of that fund will come from proposed cost savings in Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs; the other half would come from a combination of pollution emission permits, and changes to tax rules for the rich.
There are some potentially contentious plans to finance health care reform. Administration officials suggested to senior aides in Congress on Wednesday that revenues could be raised by ending the policy of excluding the value of employer-provided health insurance from income taxes, the Times writes.
"But the officials emphasized that the administration was not advocating that option, which not only is anathema to some in organized labor and business but also conflicts with Mr. Obama's position in last fall's presidential campaign."
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Obama is also pushing drug companies to increase the rebates given to Medicaid from 15.1 percent to 22.1 percent, and to cut Medicare payments to health insurance companies that provide comprehensive care to more than 10 million of the 44 million Medicare beneficiaries. A competitive bidding system which bases private Medicare Advantage plans on an average of bids they submit to Medicare could save $175 billion over 10 years, the paper writes.
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