The coverage provisions in President Obama’s 2010 health care reforms will cost about $50 billion more than estimated last year, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday.
But while the CBO expects the government to pay more for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program and collect fewer revenues from a tax on high-premium insurance plans over the next 10 years, it will be able to more than offset the higher costs with savings on tax credits and other insurance subsidies, the agency said.
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In total, the coverage provisions are expected to increase federal deficits by $1,083 billion — $48 billion less than projected last year — although the CBO didn’t update the law’s overall budgetary impact because it contains many other provisions.
The agency said it anticipates lower premiums and fewer people collecting subsidies in the exchanges due to new economic forecasts. It also anticipates savings from legislation Congress has passed in the last year that reduced the government’s cost of coverage by about $38 billion.
