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After all of this time and effort, the following can't be very reassuring to House Democrats championing their own brand of healthcare reform.

A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office this week has concluded that middle-income consumers will pay 15 to 18 percent of their income on premiums and co-payments under the proposed system.

House Dems would offer $600 billion in subsidies to aid low- and middle-income people in purchasing health coverage. That being said, a family of four with an income of $78,000 in 2016 would on average pay $8,800 in premiums, and face co-payments of $5,000 per year, the CBO notes.

Not only are there debates over just how much coverage middle-income Americans would receive, there are big questions as to how to fund the $600 billion tab. The current bill assumes that private insurers would pay for part of it, while individuals making more than $500,000 per year and couples with incomes over $1 million a year would pay a 5.4 percent excise tax. Under this scheme, the excise tax would cover $460.5 billion of the total need.

Source: FierceHealthcareIT

You can discuss more about Healthcare Reform and related topics in our Healthcare Reform Group.