Land of Lincoln Health, a now-shuttered Illinois health insurance co-op, lost its legal fight with HHS after a federal judge threw out its lawsuit over payments it claimed to be owed under the Affordable Care Act’s risk corridor program.
The Chicago Tribune reported the argument centered on whether HHS broke contractual agreements with Land of Lincoln by paying far less than what insurers requested in risk corridor. One of several mechanisms designed to shield ACA exchange insurers from losses in the first years of the new market, Congress limited what HHS could pay, and the agency was only able to fulfill 12.6 percent of what insurers requested in its first year.
For Land of Lincoln, the lack of payment, coupled with a $31.8 million under the separate risk adjustment program, forced the co-op to shut down in July.
For more on what the closed co-op may have done with the money had it won, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.