Political Quotes

“I know the distinguished Senator from Alabama is waiting and I will wrap up. Peter Orszag wrote in the Providence Journal: In January 2009, [CMS] projected that expenditures would reach 19.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2017. This year, the projection for 2017 is down to 18.4 percent of GDP. That difference amounts to a whopping $280 billion. In other words, relative to the projections issued three years earlier, today's forecasts suggest health savings of $3,500 per family of four by 2017. I did this report for the Senate HELP Committee last year on the Affordable Care Act delivery system reform provisions. Anybody who is watching and wants a copy, contact my office; we will mail or e-mail it to you. In the report we found that the administration has made fairly considerable progress on the 45 delivery system reform provisions in the law, but much more can and must be done. Specifically, the report calls upon the Obama administration to set a cost savings target for health care delivery system reform. A cost savings target will focus and guide and spur the administration's efforts in a manner that vague intentions to bend the health care cost curve will not. It would also provide a measurable goal by which we can evaluate the progress of the Affordable Care Act. In a report I mentioned earlier, the Commonwealth Fund has reported that ``the establishment of targets . . .…”