The Illinois Department of Insurance has ordered Chicago-based Land of Lincoln Health to hold back on paying $31.8 million, an amount it owes the federal government under the risk adjustment program, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Acting Director Anne Melissa Dowling wrote the order to "preserve the solvency" and "to prevent an immediate liquidation" of the co-op health insurer, according to a letter to federal authorities.
Indeed, paying such an amount would put Land of Lincoln in an even worse financial situation. While covering approximately 50,000 consumers in 2015, the co-op lost more than $90 million.
The Illinois Department of Insurance promised Land of Lincoln it would not be liable for paying the $31.8 million until the federal government pays the co-op the more than $70 million it is owed through the federal risk corridor program. Land of Lincoln previously sued the government for withholding the risk corridor payments. An HHS spokesperson declined to comment on the situation, according to the Tribune.