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Statement on ACA Risk Corridor Cases to be Heard by Supreme Court
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2019
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515; jvanness@communityplans.net
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON ACA RISK CORRIDOR CASES TO BE HEARD BY SUPREME COURT
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court granted writs of certiorari for three cases—Maine Community Health Options v. United States, Moda Health Plan, Inc. v. United States, and Land of Lincoln Mutual Health v. United States – which centers on payments to health plans mandated under the Affordable Care Act under programs intended to mitigate the financial risk borne by health plans entering Health Insurance Marketplaces.
All three cases center on whether Congress may walk away from unambiguous promises made in Federal law by enacting subsequent appropriations riders which impact the funding source but do not change the underlying law. ACAP-member health plans are owed, collectively, nearly hundreds of millions under the risk corridor program; the government’s obligation to reimburse plans under this program was suspended by Congress through an appropriations rider:
“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, as it gets to the heart of the concept of the full faith and credit of the United States government. ACAP-member plans entered the Marketplace with the clear understanding that risk corridor payments would take place as set forth in Federal law.
“It’s absurd to ask health plans – or anyone else doing business with the United States government – to price in the notion that Congress would renege on a whim. We asked the appeals court in an amicus brief to affirm that the Federal government should be as good as its word in statute, and urge the Supreme Court to do the same.”
An amici curiae brief on the Moda case, filed by ACAP in conjunction with the Alliance of Community Health Plans and prepared by attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels, is available here. A subsequent amicus brief in the Moda case urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari is available here.
About ACAP
ACAP represents 66 Safety Net Health Plans, which provide health coverage to more than 20 million people in 29 states. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other health programs. For more information, visit communityplans.net.
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