Paying a Premium for Insurance

Paying a Premium for Insurance

This week President Obama promised "the reforms we seek" will bring greater "inefficiencies to our health care system." It was a slip of the tongue, but the Obama-inspired health care bill moving through the House of Representatives suggests the president accidentally told the truth. The bill, approved last week by two House committees, would spend much more than necessary to subsidize medical coverage for uninsured Americans while failing to deliver on Obama's commitment to control health care costs.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the legislation would cost $1.3 trillion during its first decade: $438...