$4.8 billion spent so far
A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states that nealy $5 billion has been spent on Obamacare exchanges so far. A section of the Affordable Care Act that allows for “indefinite” funding at the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Initially, planning grants were valued at $1 million, though multiple rounds of “exchange establishment grants” cost much more, totaling $4.6 billion. The agency has requested another $1.788 billion for 2015.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is incurring significant administrative costs to support [federally-facilitated exchanges] FFE operations.