Starting in 2020, the tax on high-value plans would hit more consumers because the threshold for hitting the tax would rise more slowly. The latest version also scales back some of the growth in subsidies for people to buy insurance in the second decade of the bill, so they would eventually go back down to their original Senate bill level.

President Barack Obama has often cited CBO estimates to make the case that his plan is fiscally sound.

Republicans say the projections are flawed because they say Congress isn't likely to let the Medicare cuts happen as planned.

They also note that the tax on high-value plans, a key to making the numbers in the second decade look favorable, isn't supposed to go into effect until 2018. They suggest by that point, labor unions and others opposed to the tax will have persuaded Congress to eliminate it.

 

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