Washington – The United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies will be able to collect $ 12 billion from the federal government to cover the losses they had in the first years that the health law enacted by President Barack Obama was applied.
Insurers are entitled to the funds under a clause in the law known as “Obamacare” that promised companies a financial margin for losses they may suffer when selling coverage to people in markets created by the health law, the judges ruled with a voting 8-1.
The program only lasted three years, but Congress included a clause in the Health Department’s spending laws between 2015 and 2017 to limit payments under the “dangerous corridors” program. Both the governments of President Donald Trump and Obama have argued that the clause means that the government has no obligation to pay.
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However, Judge Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion for the court that the legislative action was not enough to revoke the government’s commitment to pay. “These possessions reflect a principle as old as the nation itself: the government must honor its obligations,” Sotomayor wrote.
In dissent, Judge Samuel Alito wrote that the court ruling “has the consequence of offering a huge financial rescue for insurers who took a calculated risk and lost. These companies chose to participate in the Affordable Health Care Act program because they thought it was lucrative. “
