Hey! Deficit Hawks! Adding a Public Plan to the PPACA Is Low-Hanging Fruit!

Doug Elmendorf:

Doug Elmendorf Writes to Pete Stark: Taking into account all of the relevant factors, CBO estimates that roughly one-third of the people obtaining coverage through the insurance exchanges would enroll in the public plan. CBO estimates that about 25 million people would purchase coverage individually through the exchanges in the 2017– 2019 period under the proposal; in addition, about 13 million people would be expected to obtain employment-based coverage through the...