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Going into this week's federal budget battle, the White House toyed with a hardball tactic to force congressional Democrats to negotiate on President Donald Trump's priorities. They just might eliminate billions of dollars in disputed "Obamacare" subsidies. But a study out Tuesday from a nonpartisan group suggests that could backfire. Stopping the Affordable Care Act payments at issue may actually wind up costing the federal government billions more than it would save. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/25)

Ending one of the private insurance subsidies created by Obamacare to help more than 7 million people pay for their coverage would end up costing — not saving — the federal government money, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation released Tuesday. That’s because stopping subsidies for out-of-pocket costs like deductibles would indirectly increase the cost of a broader subsidy which helps reduce monthly premium costs. (Groppe, 4/25)