Readers might be asking that question when the NYT told them that CBO's analysis implied that the House's health care bill would raise the deficit by that amount. It is equal to about 0.13 percent of projected GDP over this period. By comparison, the Iraq War at its peak cost more than 1.0 percent of GDP. Put in per capita terms, it is a bit less than $80 a year. This would have been useful context for this article.
--Dean Baker
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