80. Obama, Audacity of Hope, p. 185.
Medicare a Good Candidate?" Yale Journal of
Health Policy, Law, and Ethics (2007): 138.
81. Gruber.
63. Ibid.
82. Benjamin Zycher, "They Have Learned Nothing
and Forgotten Nothing," Manhattan Institute,
64. Obama, Audacity of Hope, p. 184.
(unpublished draft, October 8, 2007).
65. "Barack Obama's Plan for a Healthy America."
83. Memorandum from David Blumenthal, David
66. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress--
Cutler, and Jeffrey Liebman to Interested Parties,
1st Session (2007)," http://www.senate.gov/legis-
"Obama Health Care Plan," 2007, http://www.
la tive/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_110_1.htm.
nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/finalcosts
memo.pdf.
67. Getsur Davidson et al., "Public Program Crowd-
Out of Private Coverage: What Are the Issues?"
84. Richard Hillestad, et al., "Can Electronic
Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Research
Medical Record Systems Transform Health Care?
Synthesis Report no. 5, June 2004.
Potential Health Benefits, Savings, and Costs,"
Health Affairs 24, no. 5 (September/October 2005):
68. George Borjas, "Welfare Reform, Labor Supply,
110317.
and Health Insurance in the Immigrant Popu-
lation," Journal of Health Economics 22 (2003): 95657.
85. Kenneth Thorpe, "The Rise in Health Care
Spending and What to Do About It," Health Affairs
69. Congressional Budget Office, "The State
24, no. 6 (November/December 2005): 143645.
Children's Health Insurance Program," May 2007.
86. Roger Taylor et al., "Promoting Health
70. Obama'08, "Background Questions and
Information Technology: Is There a Case for More-
Answers on Health Care Plan."
Aggressive Government Action?" Health Affairs 24,
no. 5 (September/October 2005): 123445.
71. The Kerry plan would have had the federal
government cover 75 percent of all medical bills
87. Blumenthal, Cutler, and Liebman.
over $50,000 that a worker runs up in a year.
88. Karen Davis et al., "Slowing the Growth of
72. Obama, Audacity of Hope, p. 184.
U.S. Health Care Expenditures: What Are the
Options?" Commonwealth Fund, January 2007.
73. Ibid., p. 185
89. Blumenthal, Cutler, and Liebman.
74. Ibid.
90. Sack.
75. Ibid, p. 184.
91. David Leonhardt, "Free Lunch on Health?
76. HR 3600, Health Security Act, Sec. 1004,
Think Again," New York Times, August 8, 2007.
103rd Congress.
92. Jay Bhattacharya and M. Kate Bundorf, "The
77. David Blumenthal, David Cutler, and Jeffrey
Incidence of the Health Care Costs of Obesity,"
Liebman, Memorandum to Interested Parties,
National Bureau of Economic Research Working
"Obama Health Care Plan," 2007, http://www.ny
Paper no. W11303, May 2005.
times.com/packages/pdf/politics/f inalcosts
memo.pdf.
93. Amitabh Chandra, Jonathan Gruber, and Robin
McKnight, "Patient Cost-Sharing, Hospitalization
78. Ibid.
Effects and the Design of Optimal Health Insur-
ance," National Bureau for Economic Re-search
79. The National Taxpayers Union, which tracks
Working Paper no. 12972, March 2007.
spending proposals for all presidential candidates,
estimates the net cost of all of Senator Obama's
94. Joshua Cohen et al., "Does Preventive Care Save
proposals at $307 billion per year. "Democratic
Money? Health Economics and the Presidential
Presidential Primary Spending Analysis--Update,
Candidates," New England Journal of Medicine 358
March 3, 2008," http://www.ntu.org/pdf/P080303
(February 14, 2008): 66163.
_ObamaAgendaCostUpdate.pdf. Larry Kudlow
puts it at $800 billion annually. "Obama's Big-
95. Patricia Danzon, "Hidden Overhead Costs: Is
Government Vision," National Review Online, Feb-
Canada's System Really Less Expensive?" Health
ruary 14, 2008.
Affairs 11 (Spring 1992): 2143.
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