This story first appeared in The Hill Extra.
ObamaCare insurers will receive none of the money owed to them this year under the law’s so-called risk corridors provision, according to federal health officials.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed that individual health plans were slated to receive a fraction of what they’re owed under the three-year program for 2015. But the administration is already in debt to insurers from 2014, when they were unable to make all of their payments. All of the money collected will instead go toward the administration’s debts for the 2014 calendar year.
Nearly a dozen plans are suing to be paid in full after suffering debilitating losses on the exchanges.
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Insurance companies were only paid 12.6 percent of what they were owed last year. CMS in September warned that it planned to use this year’s payouts to compensate for last year’s shortfall in expected funds.
The risk corridors program was intended to protect insurers from losses, but has fallen short. Republicans have also targeted the program, which they see as a “bailout” of insurers.
In 2014, plans paid $362 million into the program, but expected payouts totaling $2.87 billion.
Land of Lincoln, a co-op suing the administration after it folded earlier this year, will only receive $149,000 toward the administration’s 2014 debt. The insurer racked up nearly $72 million in risk corridor payouts in 2015.
The rest of the insurers are watching the Land of Lincoln case — currently under appeal — as an indicator of how their lawsuits might be decided. Multiple cases are on hold pending the resolution of Land of Lincoln’s and others.
Here’s a breakdown of how much the administration is paying other insurers that are suing:
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina — Paid $4.9 million, still owed $339 million.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — Paid nothing, owed $22.2 million.
- Blue Cross of Idaho — Paid $1.3 million, owed $77 million.
- Health Republic — Paid $261,923, owed $19.6 million.
- Highmark — Paid $7 million, owed $430.4 million.
- Maine Community Health Options — Paid $8,029, owed $22.94 million.
- Minuteman — Paid $37,824, owed $6.16 million.
- Moda Health — Paid $2.97 million, owed $209.1 million.
- Montana Health CO-OP — Paid $207,000, owed $43.4 million.
- New Mexico Health Connections — Paid $139,904, owed $22.5 million.
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