UPDATED: Trump Administration to Continue Contested Insurance Subsidies Under ACA

Steven D. Schwinn, John Marshall Law School

Update: Might've spoken a little too soon. President Trump told the WSJ yesterday that he's still considering withholding subsidies.

The Trump Administration will continue to pay subsidies to health insurance companies on the exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, despite a district court ruling against the Obama Administration that they are illegal, according to the NYT.

The decision will help to keep the exchanges operating.

Recall that Judge Rosemary Collyer (D.D.C.) ruled that the Obama Administration illegally spent money on the subsidies to ACA exchange insurers without a valid congressional authorization.

The ACA provides for the subsidies, but Congress didn't fund them. President Obama went ahead and paid them, anyway.

The lawsuit, brought by congressional Republicans, is on appeal. The Trump Administration hasn't announced its position in the litigation, beyond saying that it'll continue to fund the subsidies for now.