LEWISTON, Maine _ Health insurance co-op, Community Health Options, which provides Affordable Care Act coverage to Mainers, can proceed with its attempt to recover some payments which it says it's owed under the Affordable Care Act's "risk corridors" program.
That's a part of the law that requires the federal government to pay a portion of costs if an insurance plan encounters higher than expected allowable costs during a benefit year. The risk corridors program also works the other way around with plans paying money back if their costs are lower than expected.
Community Health Options had been seeking some $23 million in such payments, but the Justice Department had filed a motion to halt that suit pending the outcome of similar cases elsewhere.
Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims means the Community Health Options suit, filed in August, can go forward.
