Will Health Care Reform Ruin the U.S. Dollar? Probably Not.

There are some already bemoaning the death of the U.S. dollar due to the recent passage of the health reform bill. However, these prognostications might be a bit premature. While the cost of the health care reform bill is $940 billion, it is a cost that is spread out over 10 years, and not an up front cost.

Additionally, there have already been signs that the health care reform bill is helping the health sector on Wall Street. Indeed, reports Kathy Lien in FX360, the long-term damage to the dollar is probably not something to get overly worked up about:

In the long run however, the package is expected to reduce the deficit by $143 billion over its first 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office. Also, the bill isn’t expected to kick in until 2014 which means that the actual impact on the deficit will not occur until then. Therefore in long term, based upon these estimates, the damage on the dollar should be minimal.

With an expected lower deficit, and reduce costs down the road due to poor health, there is a chance that this bill could actually help the U.S. economy over the long haul.