CBO Says Healthcare Bill Will Cut Deficit by 138 Billion in 10 Yrs.

Democrats got help in their effort to enact health-care today when the congressional budget office, CBO, said the $940 billion bill would cut the federal deficit.

The health care vote could come up as early as March 21.

To help offset the cost of the measure, Democrats plan a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on unearned income, a leadership aide said. The bill will cut the deficit by $138 billion in the first decade and reduce the shortfall further in the next 10 years, the CBO, nonpartisan budget office said.

The 3.8 percent Medicare tax on unearned income would apply to people with income of more than $200,000 for individuals or $250,000 for couples. The Senate bill already had an increase in the Medicare payroll tax for the highest earners.

The deficit projections may persuade wavering Democrats, who are worried about the cost of the legislation. The bill hopes to extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans.

“A lot of members will be much more comfortable with this bill based on that savings,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

The House first plans to approve a 10-year, $875 billion bill passed by the Senate and clear a set of changes to that measure through the budget-reconciliation process. The changes are needed because House Democrats object to parts of the Senate bill. The Senate would then pass the reconciliation bill.

The reconciliation bill scales back an excise tax on high- end insurance plans in the Senate version. The new tax on “Cadillac plans” would raise $32 billion over 10 years, a fraction of the $149 billion originally planned, the CBO said.

A proposed independent board charged with finding savings in the health-care system now will probably find $13 billion in savings, instead of the $28 billion originally anticipated, the CBO said.