CBO: No sign Congress meant to limit health exchange subsidy

In a development that could complicate Republican efforts to limit funding for a key provision of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, a top congressional researcher said the issue of restricting subsidies never arose in producing the legislation. Congressional staff involved in the creation of the law did not suggest that federal insurance subsidies be restricted only to states that run their own healthcare exchanges, the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday. "Nor was the issue raised during consideration of earlier versions of the legislation in 2009 and 2010," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf informed Republican Representative Darrell Issa in a letter dated December 6.