The CBO projects that subsidies to Obamacare would require $164 billion less than had been thought a few weeks ago. Several metrics have served as input to this more optimistic forecast. Premiums, especially early on, are slated to be lower than previously projected: At one point, CBO estimated that premiums would rise on average by about $100 in 2015. Now the Office still thinks these costs will go up, but much more slowly than had been imagined.
Here’s a laundry list of what contributes to the CBO’s estimate:
All told, the law is projected to cost $104 billion less over 10 years than CBO’s February 2014 estimate. Couple that with the fact that enrollment exceeded any expectations, coming in at a whopping 7.5 million. It looks like the Affordable Care Act is going to join Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the pantheon of legislation far-righties love to hate.
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Michele Petrovsky is the Webmaster at Tools4Change, Author of “Cathedral or Bazaar? Fix Higher Education – Teach by the Seat of Your Pants ,” “Donkey Dharma,” and “Quick Guide to Linux.” Petrovsky resides in Glen Mills, Pa.
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