Jul. 7--OELWEIN -- It's too soon to estimate the cost to taxpayers of health care reform bills pending in Congress, Rep. Bruce Braley said Monday at a town-hall meeting at the Oelwein Middle School.

Much of the cost of extending health care coverage to people who cannot now afford it will be realized through making the health care system more efficient, the Waterloo Democrat said.

"Each of us already pays a hidden tax of $1,200 a year" to provide health care to people without insurance, Iowa's 1st District congressman said.

Putting more empha sis on preventing illness and encouraging more efficient treatment will yield substantial savings, said Braley, a member of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel charged with drafting health care reform legislation.

About 70 percent of the $2.1 trillion that Americans spend each year for health care pays for the treatment of chronic ailments, many of which could be prevented or made less serious with proper wellness treatment, he said.


Additional savings will be realized by reforming Medicare reimbursement formulas that reward inefficient health care providers, he said.

Braley said he expects the House to vote on its health care reform bill by Aug. 1.

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