FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court building exterior seen in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2020.REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger./File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of health insurers seeking $12 billion from the federal government under a program set up by the Obamacare law aimed at encouraging them to offer medical coverage to previously uninsured Americans.
The 8-1 ruling authored by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor paves the way for a significant one-time cash infusion for major companies such as Humana Inc, Anthem Inc and Centene Corp. The justices reversed a lower court’s ruling that Congress had suspended the government’s obligation to make such payments.
The insurers had said that the lower court ruling, if allowed to stand, would have let the government pull a “bait-and-switch” and withhold money the companies were promised.
Moda Health Plan Inc and other insurers that sued to try to compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make the payments have said the government was supposed to help them recover from early losses they suffered after the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under Democratic former President Barack Obama.
The law, dubbed Obamacare, has enabled millions of Americans who previously had no medical coverage to obtain insurance, including those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham