State of Ohio Continues Challenge to Transitional Reinsurance Program

The state of Ohio has filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, asking the full court to rehear its challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP).  In Ohio v. U.S. a three-judge panel of the Court has affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruling that granted the U.S. motion to dismiss, and denied the state of Ohio motion for summary judgment.  The state of Ohio has claimed that the TRP applies to private employers, not state and local government employers, and violates the Tenth Amendment.  In this challenge to the TRP, the state of Ohio has been joined by several of its political subdivisions as well as the University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, Shawnee State University, and Youngstown State University, and seeks a refund of all payments made on its behalf.  The TRP was intended to stabilize premiums in the individual market inside and outside of the Health Insurance Marketplaces, by collecting from contributing entities to fund reinsurance payments to issuers of non-grandfathered reinsurance-eligible individual market plans, as well as administrative costs of operating the TRP, during 2014-2016.  Contributions to the TRP are managed by Pay.gov.