WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced Thursday that if lawmakers permanently extend the enhanced tax credits for certain people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, it would cost the government $350 billion over 10 years and increase the number of those with health insurance by 3.8 million.

The 14-page letter from CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel to congressional leaders projected that extending the enhanced tax credits would reduce the average cost of gross premiums for benchmark plans by 7.6%.

“The estimated decline in benchmark premiums is the result of the expectation that people enrolling in the marketplaces would be healthier on average if the expanded premium tax credit were extended,” Swagel wrote.

The nonparti

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