Higher Obamacare Subsidies Expected Over Next Two Years

Taxpayers will foot the bill over the next few years for higher Obamacare subsidies after Congress locked in an insurer practice to raise some premiums to cover their costs.

The tactic benefits insurers because they can sell more plans in the Obamacare exchanges, and more expensive plans, as a result. It also benefits low- and middle-income people who can get nearly free insurance coverage.

“Everybody’s happy as long as the taxpayers make up the difference,” Tom Miller, a resident fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said in an interview.

The Affordable Care Act calls for monthly premium subsidies for ...