An economist at the Economic Policy Institute criticized the Senate testimony on healthcare reform by CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, saying one has to "spend money to save money" to reduce the growth rate of healthcare costs.
EPI economist Josh Bivens analyzed President Barack Obama's July 22 press conference on healthcare reform as well as Elmendorf's Senate testimony on healthcare reform proposals. He gave low marks to Elmendorf's take on reform.
"The relief that health reform can bring to public budgets is a significant benefit of this reform, but not the only one," wrote Bivens. "The assumption by Elmendorf – that health reform's primary goal must be to reduce the growth of federal health spending – is tailor-made to block reform."
Elmendorf has come under criticism from supporters of President Obama's reform efforts. Healthcare analyst Maggie Mahar recently wrote that the CBO director "leans to the right" and that debt reduction is a major theme in the academic papers that he has written.
On her blog for the Century Foundation, Mahar wrote that "Elmendorf's initial training with a conservative economist may help explain why he takes such a gloomy view of healthcare reform."