Extending Obamacare subsidies means 3.6M more insured at $350B cost, CBO says

At least 3.5 million more Americans would to lose health insurance coverage if Congress does not extend added Obamacare premium subsidy tax credits, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO said Thursday in a new analysis requested by congressional Democrats that permanently extending the extra subsidies would raise the number of people with health insurance by 3.6 million by 2030 and 3.8 million by 2035. Premiums for Obamacare marketplace plans would also be lower by 7.6% on average over the next decade.

Renewing the expanded subsidies, though, would cost the Treasury $350 billion over the decade. The price tag illustrates the difficulty Republican leaders face in getting fiscal conservatives to support any extension of subsidies, as favored by som