Texas, Louisiana and Kansas Sue Obama Administration Over Health Law Fee
Attorneys general from the three states filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service, challenging the Health Insurance Providers Fee that helps pay for Obamacare.
The Hill:
Texas Opens Up New ObamaCare Lawsuit
Three states are firing the latest volley in the court battles over ObamaCare with a new lawsuit filed Thursday over the law’s fee on health insurers. Texas, joined by Kansas and Louisiana, is suing the Obama administration over the alleged “unconstitutional Obamacare tax.” At issue is a fee that ObamaCare imposed on health insurers as a way to help pay for the law. (Sullivan, 10/22)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Files New Obamacare Suit Over Health Insurer Fee
In Texas' latest salvo against Obamacare, Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit over a fee states must help cover to pay for the sweeping federal health reform law. Texas joins Louisiana and Kansas in suing the Obama administration over the Health Insurance Providers Fee, which Paxton says cost Texas $86 million in 2013 and about $120 million per year since. Texas feels the effect of the fee, levied on health insurers, because it reimburses the companies that operate with public funds in the state’s privatized Medicaid program. (Walters, 10/22)
The Dallas Morning News:
Paxton Sues Feds Over Obamacare Fee On Health Insurers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Obama administration over an Affordable Care Act fee on health insurers that applies to private insurers under Medicaid — and thus has become a hit to state budgets. Joining his counterparts in Louisiana and Kansas, Paxton on Wednesday sued Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to challenge the federal law’s “Health Insurance Providers Fee.” (Garrett, 10/22)