Economists Dismiss Health Reform

Economists are pessimistic that President Obama's health reform plan is going to accomplish what it sets out to do.

Less than half of 266 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said they think reform measures forwarded by President Obama and Democrats in Congress would improve Americans' access, quality or cost of health care, according to the National Association for Business Economics.

In fact, almost half said the proposed efforts to expand coverage to America's 46 million uninsured probably would "decrease quality and increase cost," the survey found. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed said Democrats' plans would expand quality health care to the uninsured.

Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden said Americans should think of President Obama's health reform plan as another stimulus that would pump money into the economy and save taxpayers money. For the time being, the economists don't seem to buy it.

That's not to say the economists, who were surveyed earlier this month, agree on what they'd term a better idea. Asked to rank cost-cutting measures to fix the health care system, a little more than a quarter of the economists suggested restructuring the tax treatment and deductibles for private insurance plans. The second most popular choice: tort reform, an idea that's unlikely to get Democratic support.