costs


Armand Biroonak's picture

Afghanistan: Financial Folly

By Armand Biroonak
December 1, 2009

President Obama’s expected announcement Tuesday night of a 34,000 troop surge in Afghanistan is indeed a worrisome as well as costly decision. read more »

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Private Insurers Overcharge Medicare By $1.3 Billion

From The Washington Post
December 16th, 2008

The Washington Post — Under a program called Medicare Advantage, the federal government pays insurers for delivering Medicare benefits. The insurance companies' payments are based, in part, on their anticipated revenues and expenses. If the companies had been more accurate, they could have spent much of that $1.3 billion on enhanced health benefits or lower monthly premiums, and they still would have maintained their expected profit margin, the Government Accountability Office said in a report expected to be released Thursday.

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Rising Health Care Costs are to Blame for Rising Medicare Cost

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
October 14th, 2008

The Congressional Budget Office reports the main factor in the rising cost of Medicare is the growth of health care costs—health expenditures as a percent of GDP have more than doubled since 1970, growing from 7.0 percent to 14.8 percent in 2002.

Source
CBO, CBO
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Bush Administration's Medicare Advantage Plan Costs Double

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
October 14th, 2008

The Bush Administration’s privatized “Medicare Advantage” plans are rising twice as fast as costs in traditional Medicare, according to the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

Source
Congressional Quarterly
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Costs of Worn-out Iraq Equipment High

Submitted by Alexander Sewell
October 2nd, 2008

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that it will take years and cost about $200 billion to repair or replace equipment that was worn out or broken in the Iraq war.

Source
GAO
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More than $13 Billion for Iraq Reconstruction Unaccounted For

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
October 1st, 2008

A former Iraqi official recently estimated that more than $13 billion meant for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through elaborate fraud schemes.

Source
Washington Post
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Iraq War Costs

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
September 30th, 2008

The federal government has authorized $656 billion for the Iraq war. Of that total, $152 billion was appropriated to fund the Iraq war during the current fiscal year. That amounts to more than $12 billion per month and $416 million per day.

Source
Congressional Research Service
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Contractors Used Heavily in Iraq War

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
September 30th, 2008

A record number of private contractors are used in Iraq--receiving almost 20% of funding for operations or $85 billion-- these contractors are often not held accountable for their use of the money.

Source
Congressional Budget Office
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Health Insurance Costs Grow More Gradually in 2008

From The Washington Post
September 24th, 2008

The Washington Post — Over the past decade, insurance premiums have grown much more quickly than wages and inflation. That wasn't the case this year. But to help slow the costs of health insurance, companies are increasingly offering coverage that requires their workers to pay more of their medical expenses before the insurance will kick in.

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Iraq War Costs $12 Billion a Month

Submitted by Armand Biroonak
July 27th, 2008

The Iraq War costs more than $12 billion per month and $416 million per day. These figures include neither operations in Afghanistan nor anti-terrorism programs elsewhere around the world nor the costs of caring for the wounded or replenishing our arsenals.

Source
Congressional Research Service
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