A Reuters report by Lawrence Hurley posted on Thursday, May 12, 2016:

 

A U.S. judge on Thursday handed a victory to congressional Republicans who challenged President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law...

 

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, based in Washington <D.C.>, ruled that the administration cannot spend billions of dollars in federal funds to provide subsidies under the law known as Obamacare to private insurers without the approval of Congress.

 

At issue in the case, brought by the Republican-led House of Representatives, are reimbursements to insurance companies to compensate them for reductions that the law requires them to make to customers' out-of-pocket medical payments.

 

WIM

According to Mr. Hurley:

The ruling will not have an immediate effect on the law because the judge put the decision on hold pending an expected appeal by the administration. But it adds to uncertainty over the future of Obama's signature domestic policy achievement ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential and congressional elections, including whether enough health insurers will continue to participate in the program.

 

Insurers have sustained losses from their Obamacare business, saying they have not attracted enough healthy customers to offset the costs of sicker members. Two of the largest players, UnitedHealth Group and Humana Inc, had already said they would not offer plans in many markets next year.