Reality Check

"I love numbers, and today the number from the Congressional Budget Office that this health insurance reform legislation will save $138 billion in the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years speaks very eloquently to the deficit reduction that is in our package."
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, March 18, 2010


The Reality: On May 11, 2010, the CBO reported that the health care reform legislation that was enacted in March could cost another $115 billion over the next 10 years in federal health care spending. The new estimates include up to $20 billion to enable federal agencies to implement the law, $34 billion for community health centers, and $39 billion for American Indian health care.