The federal government owes health insurance companies $12 billion, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. In an 8-1 decision, the court sided with health insurers claiming an Affordable Care Act provision that encouraged them to offer coverage to previously uninsured Americans had cost them billions of dollars.
The ACA's "risk corridors" program, which ran from 2015 to 2017, had promised health insurers a cushion for any potential losses if they offered coverage in the insurance marketplace the act created. But Congress passed provisions to the Department of Health and Human Services' spending bills each year to block those payments, and both the Obama and Trump administrations argued those provisions meant the federal government didn't have to pay up.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Will divisions over trans issue derail Keir Starmer's government?Today's Big Question Rebellion is brewing following the Supreme Court's ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the SunIn The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
-
Gandhi charges: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's oppositionThe Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
