House, administration request continuance in ACA cost-sharing subsidies challenge

The Trump administration today joined House Republicans in asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to continue to suspend proceedings in House v. Price (formerly House v. Burwell) “to allow time for a resolution that would obviate the need for judicial determination of this appeal, including potential legislative action.” The court stayed proceedings in the case last December at the request of House Republicans. The Obama administration filed the appeal after the district court ruled for the House, which challenged the Obama administration for reimbursing insurers for cost-sharing subsidies provided through the Health Insurance Marketplace. In a friend-of-the-court brief last October, the AHA, Federation of American Hospitals, The Catholic Health Association of the United States, and Association of American Medical Colleges said that ending the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing subsidies would harm patients’ finances and health, trigger a “death spiral” in the health insurance exchanges, and force hospitals to shoulder an even greater financial burden, making it harder for them to serve their communities.