‘Silver Loading’ Cured Insurers’ Obamacare Losses: Government

The federal government is hoping to limit the damages it may have to pay to insurers who claim to have lost billions when it ended a program to repay them for lowering certain members’ out of pocket costs.

Premium increases on “silver,” or mid-level, health insurance plans sold on federal and state exchanges have more than made up for the losses, the federal government said in supplemental briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Monday.

The practice known as “silver loading,” along with the larger premium tax credit subsidies members get as a result of paying ...