Video: ObamaCare an “Old Joke”; Update: Cost now $1.6 trillion; Update: $4 trillion?

Conservatives for Patients Rights launches a new ad out today, urging Americans to oppose the government takeover of health care. Rick Scott, who heads the organization, says that spending a trillion dollars to “control costs” is essentially an oxymoron:

John McCain tells ABC News that the pricetag is too much and that the Democrats need to start over:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, called on President Obama and Democrats in Congress to “scrap the current [healthcare] bill and start over.”

McCain pointed to a nonpartisan cost estimate of $1 trillion over ten years for the major portion of healthcare reform suggested in a bill floated by Sen. Edward Kennedy’s Health Committee and said the cost was too high for American taxpayers, especially since the nonpartisan review foresaw $23 million would lose their current insurance plans under the proposal.

“How we going to pay for that, Mr. President.,” asked McCain on the senate floor. “How are we going to pay for that?”

The cost estimate for the Kennedy committee bill was prepared by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which is also preparing a separate cost estimate for a different healthcare reform proposal being prepared by the Senate Finance Committee.

“The CBO letter should be a wakeup call for all of us to scrap the current bill and start over,” said McCain. “Start over in a true bipartisan fashion,” said McCain, although his idea for healthcare reform would not find much support among Democrats.

McCain also scoffed at the White House’s attempt to distance itself from the Kennedy bill after the CBO made the costs public.  “Where’s the administration’s plan?” McCain demanded.   Probably in the same place as the funding for it — nowhere.

Update: According to King Banaian, the $1 trillion figure is how much ObamaCare will add to the deficit.  The cost is $1.3 trillion — and rising.

Update II: Actually, HA reader Geoff A notes that King’s too optimistic:

Senate sources say the latest cost estimates for health care legislation are around $1.6 trillion over 10 years. Two Senate staffers, one Democratic and one Republican, said Congressional Budget Office estimates put the cost of the Finance Committee version of the bill at around $1.6 trillion.

A third staffer, a Finance Committee Democratic aide, indicated committee members are working to lower the cost to less than $1 trillion over 10 years, a level preferred by the Obama administration.

Preferred? Ugh.

Update III: Philip Klein says it will be $4 trillion, if a public plan gets put into place (via Michelle). Reminds me of Medicare Part D projections ….

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