USA Today falsely claims "estimated cost of a health care overhaul" is $1 trillion

SUMMARY: A USA Today article reported that some elderly opponents of health care reform "fear the estimated cost of a health care overhaul, generally pegged for the first 10 years at $1 trillion, would lead to cuts" in Medicare, and then quoted "a former state representative" saying, "It's going to bankrupt this country." In fact, contrary to the article's claim that health care reform would "cost" $1 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that the only complete bill to be given a cost estimate "would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period."

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