If the government stopped making the cost-sharing payments, insurers would still be required to hold down deductibles and co-payments for low- and moderate-income consumers. Most, however, would raise premiums, the budget office projected. The net result would be to increase the federal deficit by almost $200 billion over the next 10 years, the budget office said. The budget office based its forecast on an assumption that payments would be phased out in an orderly way, starting in January. White House officials responded by calling the budget office projection a “flawed report,” although they did not identify any flaws in it.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 15, 2017 18:41 UTC