HHS Loses Battle Over Nevada Health Insurance Payments on Appeal

The Department of Health and Human Services wrongfully withheld payments to a Nevada health insurance cooperative under an Affordable Care Act cost-sharing program, a federal appeals court ruled.

Nevada Health CO-OP had taken on about $66 million in startup and solvency loans before state regulators declared them “unsound” and pulled the plug on their insurance operations. A state court placed Nevada Health in receivership, putting the state’s insurance commissioner in charge of handling claims against the company or its assets. However, the HHS canceled their loan agreements and began withholding cost-reduction payments, pushing the receiver to take legal action in ...