In an election-year stunner, the Congressional Budget Office is warning the Biden-Harris administration's new Medicare prescription drug plan could cost taxpayers more than $20 billion over three years.

The budget analysis arm of Congress said the increased costs are due to the government subsidizing many seniors’ premiums by sending money to insurance firms, and it would cost at least $5 billion extra in 2025 alone and add to the deficit.

“The higher costs are attributable to the increases in subsidies for premiums and risk corridors,” the CBO told key lawmakers this week.

You can read the full report here:

House Ways and Means  Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to CBO Director Phillip Swagel seeking the analysis of the Biden plan 

CBO responded that federal spending would increase between $10 billion and $20 billion in 2025 compared to earlier projections.

Lawmakers blasted the Biden/Harris administration for imposing such new cost on taxpayers

"As predicted, the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act not only quelled investment for new cures, but caused Medicare prescription drug plan premiums to skyrocket, and Democrats are scrambling to cover it up before the election," Arrington said .

"In July, the Biden-Harris CMS scrambled to create a new federal program that will send billions of tax dollars to large health insurance companies to cover up a massive flaw in their so-called Inflation Reduction Act."

The new average plan bid for a standard Part D coverage increases by 179% for 2025 partly due to an underestimation of federal coverage of the Part D changes, CBO said.