Top congressional Republicans warned the Obama administration Tuesday it risks violating federal law if it proceeds with a backup plan to transfer "potentially billions" in taxpayer dollars into ObamaCare to bail out insurance companies.
The Affordable Care Act was originally signed into law with a provision that allows the government to cover insurers that lose money by paying them from a pool of cash collected from insurers that turned a profit.
However, administration officials made a rule change in May to the so-called "risk corridors" program that, Republicans say, would allow them to use taxpayer funds from other federal programs -- GOP lawmakers say that's a decision only Congress can make.
“It is plain that under current law, the Obama administration does not have the ability to divert money from programs that Congress has funded,” Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, told FoxNews.com in a statement. “Congress alone was given the power of the purse -- the power to appropriate funds. Yet again, the administration is circumventing Congress and seeking to write its own laws."
The change comes amid concerns that insurance companies participating in ObamaCare could soon announce double-digit rate hikes because they had to insure more high-risk customers this year than expected. Premium spikes stand to hurt Democrats seeking reelection this year. But the latest regulatory tweak could effectively guarantee that the federal government will offset their losses -- making premium hikes less necessary.
The May regulation states that HHS would use “other sources of funding … subject to the availability of appropriations” if necessary to make up for any “shortfall."Read the rest of the story HERE.
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