Half of Obamacare's deficit reduction wiped out

Nearly half of the deficit reduction that Democrats claimed when President Obama signed the national health care law would be wiped away by the administration’s recomendation against implementing a doomed long-term care program.

As Obamacare’s critics noted at the time, Democrats’ deficit reduction claims were based on a series of accounting gimmicks. One of the most obvious was the inclusion of the Community Living Assistance and Support Services Act, a program that was slated to collect five years of premiums before paying out any benefits. Though it was unsustainable over time, on paper it produced surpluses during the Congressional Budget Office’s 10-year budget window.