The lead story in the Washington Post today is: “House unveils $940 billion health accord.” (On the web it’s even worse: “House leaders announce $940 billion health-care compromise bill.”) Republicans, of course, have disputed the $940 billion figure. One of their chief points is that it purports to convey how much the program will cost over ten years, but does not actually cover ten years of its full operation. Counting those years (2014-2023) takes the total federal spending to $2.5 trillion. The $940 billion estimate doesn’t even start in 2011, but rather starts from three months ago. (It also doesn’t count all the spending in the bill.) Does the story provide any of this context? Does the companion story about the uncertainty of CBO estimates do so? No and no.

This lead story also credits the Democratic claim that Obamacare will reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion in its second decade; it attributes the claim to the CBO. The CBO never made that claim.