Health proposals costly, analysis says

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Healthcare plans proposed by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have high costs and modest savings, a congressional analysis shows.

The Congressional Budget Office, which provides Congress non-partisan analysis of economic and budgetary matters, analyzed 115 healthcare options, including proposals to expand coverage and slow the growth of health spending, The New York Times reported Friday.

Amid the potential high costs, CBO analysts Thursday said they found one bright spot -- potential savings from a proposal to require doctors and hospitals to use health information technology. Analysts said the requirement could save the federal government $7 billion in the first five years alone by reducing medical errors and avoiding unnecessary tests and procedures, the budget office said.

Such a requirement also "would also lower health insurance premiums in the private sector," the report said.

If Congress does not act on healthcare issues, the report says, costs will soar, the number of the uninsured will rise by 1 million a year and spending will jump to 25 percent of the gross domestic product in 2025 from 16 percent in 2007, the Times reported.