ObamaCare Costs Drop 20% According to Janurary 2015 CBO Estimates

The latest CBO report is in, ObamaCare’s costs are 20% less than expected. The CBO projects ACA related provisions to cost $571 billion through 2019, that’s $139 billion less than projected in 2010 and 7% less than projected last April.

CBO and JCT currently estimate that the ACA’s coverage provisions will result in net costs to the federal government of $76 billion in 2015 and $1,350 billion over the 2016–2025 period. Compared with the projection from last April, which spanned the 2015–2024 period, the current projection represents a downward revision in the net costs of those provisions of $101 billion over those 10 years, or a reduction of about 7 percent. – CBO Updated Estimates of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act January 2015.

Why is ObamaCare Costing Less than Projected

Basically this is all due to a lower than projected use of Marketplace subsidies. The CBO projected 13 million to be enrolled While this is great news for short term spending and those who don’t approve of ACA subsidies, it’s not much of a win outside of that. Those of us that think the spending related to cost assistance is worth it, should note that the decreased costs are directly related to folks not taking advantage of Marketplace subsidies and Medicaid (despite having access to free or low cost coverage.)

Learning More About ObamaCare and the Budget

If and when everyone who is eligible for a subsidy gets one, the ACA’s cost will rise and will affect both debt and the deficit. Get the facts on ObamaCare’s costs and ObamaCare’s effect on the deficit and debt. Keep in mind short term projections are now curbed. This lessens the impact of the ACA on the debt and the deficit, especially in the short term. So if you see the April 2014 reported cited on a page on our website, please refer to the CBO Updated Estimates of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act January 2015 for changes in projections.