WASHINGTON, D.C. – Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), issued this statement following the Supreme Court’s decision in Maine Community Health Options v. United States, regarding the government’s responsibility to pay the 2014-16 transitional risk corridor payments statutorily required in the Affordable Care Act individual and small group markets:
Millions of Americans rely on the individual and small group markets for their coverage and care, and they deserve a steady market that provides them with affordable choices. Health insurance providers are focused on delivering for them, and they depend on the federal government to be a fair and reliable business partner committed to the same goal.
The federal government made a clear commitment in the interest of building stable markets and making coverage more affordable for individuals and small employers. Health insurance providers kept their commitments while incurring substantial losses. Today’s decision, as the Supreme Court observes, reflects ‘a principle as old as the Nation itself: The Government should honor its obligations.’ We appreciate that today’s Supreme Court 8-1 decision ensures that the federal government honors the obligations it made for services the private sector already delivered.