Obamacare Subsidy Extension Would Cost $350 Billion: CBO (1)

Congressional Democrats’ push to make subsidies for Obamacare health plans permanent would cost about $350 billion over a decade, budget analysts said Thursday, raising the stakes in a standoff that threatens to shut down the government in less than two weeks.

The tax credits were created in 2021 as part of emergency relief efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, and have become a flash point in negotiations in Congress over funding the government before a Sept. 30 deadline.

Democrats have demanded that the premium tax credits be permanently extended in exchange for their votes to fund the government, which Republicans ...