Affordable Number Care

   Repealing Obamacare may well be far too costly to warrant serious consideration, according to a glance at numbers provided by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
   The agency estimated that federal deficits could increase by more than $353 billion over a ten-year period, assuming the repeal took effect on Jan. 1, 2016. Moreover, the number of non-elderly people without health insurance would increase by 19 million in the first year after repeal, by 23 million in the next three years, and by 24 million in all subsequent years through 2025. And the number of people with coverage either purchased individually or through Medicaid would drop by more than 30 million.
   Look again. That means 50 million people would lose health insurance as soon as the plan is dropped, and budget deficits would soar as the economy slows, production drops, tax revenue falls and more people come to depend on government aid. And over a ten-year period, more than 100 million Americans of working age would wind up without health insurance.
   And, of course, as people get sick and can't afford to pay medical bills, the death rate is likely to increase.
   So the question becomes whether we can afford the economic and social chaos of canceling health care, especially for those who don't have policies subsidized by employers.