Beth Israel CEO questions cost of Obama's health plan

(NECN: Washington, DC) – President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress, urging them to enact health care legislation. The President said, “the time for bickering is over”, and that it is now “time to deliver on health care.” Obama said the changes he has in mind would cost about $900 billion over decade, “less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans” passed in the 1990s. Paul Levy, President and CEO, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center talked about the costs surrounding the proposed health care plan. Levy questions how you generate enough savings to pay for the costs. He says in the short run, costs go up. “I believe we should provide insurance to everybody, I believe it’s a national priority,” Levy says. “And when you have a national priority, you raise taxes to pay for it.” Levy suggests, getting rid of the “tax deductability”, or the exemption, on the insurance premiums paid by employers. He says that itself would save about $200 billion a year.