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February 24, 2009

Admin: Healthcare Reform Top Fiscal Priority
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The Obama administration, meanwhile, says it intends to make healthcare
reform its top fiscal priority this year. No details were announced on
specific proposals. The pledge comes as a new government report says
healthcare costs will rise to average more than $8,000 per American this
year. That amounts to a per-person increase of $365 from 2008. The
Department of Health and Human Services warns the Medicare hospital
trust fund continues to lose money and could become insolvent within
seven years. Bureaucratic costs as a result of the insurance-based
private healthcare systems continue to account for a significant
percentage of healthcare spending. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured
has also grown. A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation says 48
million Americans don’t have healthcare coverage.



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