Carmel, CA Health Care Reform Will Reduce Deficit, Says Ombudsman

President Barack Obama's health care reform is a hot topic in the political debates preceding this year's Presidential and Congressional elections.  A Congressional bipartisan ombudsman weighed in on the issue on Tuesday, backing up President Obama's claim that the Affordable Care Act will help reduce the deficit, a claim that Republicans have hotly contested.  They claim that the health care reform act will cost the government trillions of dollars and increase the federal deficit, a claim that was shot down by the bipartisan ombudsman.  In fact, they released a statement that the Republican legislation to repeal the overhaul which was passed by the House (but not the Senate) would increase the deficit by $109 billion between 2013 and 2022. "Repealing the health care law will lead to an increase in budget deficits over the coming decade, though a smaller one than previously reported," budget office director Douglas Elmendorf wrote in a letter to House speaker John Boehner (Republican, Ohio).  The law's mix of spending cuts and tax increases would more than offset new spending to cover uninsured people, he explained.  It's good to get some third party analysis which isn't influenced by Democrats or Republicans as there is so much hyperbole in the media to get voters riled up.  Look forward to plenty more debate on this topic.