FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS FROM THE CBO

The CBO has made several reports that show aspects of the proposed health care reform won't work as intended and that's been all over the wingnut media. One of the wingers key fear cards is that the public option will destroy private sector insurance and that leads directly into the claim that Pres. Obama is a socialist or even a Marxist. Now, that myth gets a little pushback:

Gov't plan can coexist with private insurance
Jul 27 02:28 PM US/Eastern
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new government health insurance plan sought by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could coexist with private insurers without driving them out of business, an analysis by nonpartisan budget experts suggests.

The estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office—seen as good news by Democrats—comes as leaders pushed Monday to make progress on health care overhaul before lawmakers go home for their August recess.

A widely cited study by the Lewin Group, a private health research firm, estimated that more than 100 million people would sign up for the public plan proposed by House Democrats, making it the dominant insurer in the land.

But the budget office, in a letter Sunday to a senior Republican lawmaker, said its own estimate for the same legislation is "substantially smaller."

CBO estimates that only 11 million to 12 million people would sign up for the public plan—making it a much smaller player in the market.

The CBO estimated that the public plan would offer premiums about 10 percent lower than private plans; the Lewin analysis estimates the premiums would be at least 20 percent lower. The CBO estimates that only individuals and workers in companies with fewer than 50 employees would join the exchange, while Lewin estimated the exchange would eventually be open to all workers.

As if to underscore how such estimates can vary, the Urban Institute public policy center also ran calculations—and came up with different numbers. The Urban Institute estimated that about 47 million people would sign up for the public plan, if companies with fewer than 50 workers were allowed to join.

The AP also reports a fact that you rarely hear from the wingers:

Polls have shown that Americans support the idea of a public coverage option as part of health care overhaul.