The Department of Justice has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Health Republic Insurance over money the now-shuttered insurer says it is owed under the Affordable Care Act's risk corridor program, reports Portland Business Journal.
In a motion filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., the DOJ's lawyers argue that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. The federal government also claims the risk corridor payments aren't ripe for litigation, as the ACA doesn't include a deadline by which risk corridor payments must be made, according to the report.
HealthRepublic filed a class-action suit last February, seeking full payment of risk corridor payments for itself and all other similarly situated insurers. HealthRepublic argued it is owed $20 million under the program, according to the article.
Since Health Republic brought suit, four other insurers have sued the federal government over risk corridor payments, including Moda Health, Land of Lincoln Health, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Highmark.