Spending deal hurts Obamacare's bottom line

By Paige Winfield Cunningham, Paige Winfield Cunningham

Published December 20, 2015

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It's long been an annoying truth for Republicans trying to make their case against Obamacare: Congress' official scorekeeper has consistently said the law will lower the federal deficit rather than raise it.

But by delaying three of the law's taxes in a major, bipartisan spending agreement forged early Wednesday morning, the GOP has brought the law closer to the deficit-increasing side of the fence.

"The Affordable Care Act would no longer reduce deficits this decade if all three of these taxes are subsequently repealed," said Loren Adler, research director for the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, which has compiled estimates on how much the deal would reduce revenue coming into the government.