Published by The Daily Progress on January 19, 2014

Many people ask how the Affordable Care Act subsidies are paid for, and many are uninformed or misinformed, claiming the ACA will ruin our economy and increase our deficit. These claims are inaccurate.

Here are some ways subsidies are paid for.

Families making more than $250,000 a year will pay slightly more in Medicare payroll taxes. Medical-device makers and drug companies will pay more in taxes. There will be significant Medicare savings in payments in insurers and hospitals, no cuts to recipients.

According to the nonpartisan groups, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation, the ACA will reduce the deficit over the next decade and beyond. Details and substantiation can be found on the CBO website.

According to Jonathan Gruber, MIT economist and an architect of Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health-care plan, the ACA will lower our deficit by $100 billion over 10 years and by $1 trillion in the decades after.

Millions of lower-income and middle-class people are now saving millions of dollars in premiums, deductibles, and co-pays, thanks to these subsidies. We all benefit from a healthier society, which the ACA is providing.

Delano Erwin

Albemarle County