Would Obamacare force millions of middle-class Americans to buy health insurance they can’t afford, or would Obamacare end up costing taxpayers $500 billion more over 10 years? That was the question facing President Obama before the Treasury Department issued new regulations implementing his mammoth health reform law on Friday. The problem begins with Obamacare’s individual mandate, which forces every American to buy a federally approved health insurance policy. Obamacare then makes all insurance policies more expensive by forcing insurance companies to insure every customer who wants a policy, while also limiting the prices they can charge. But Obamacare attempts to soften the financial blow of the mandate by subsidizing insurance premium payments for those with annual incomes 133 percent to 400 percent above poverty level. The government defines the poverty level as $22,000 for a family of four. Those below 133 percent of poverty are forced into Medicaid.

The $777 billion that Obamacare is slated to pay in subsidies to insurance companies through 2021 is by far the most expensive part of the program. But it could have been even more expensive. Americans who are offered “affordable” insurance coverage by their employers are not eligible for Obamacare subsidies. But what is the definition of an “affordable” insurance plan?